Don Lemon says Elon Musk has canceled his deal for a show on X
TechCrunchMar 03
Elon Musk Nixes Don Lemon's X Talk Show After Interview
Image copyright: Jeff Kravitz/Contributor/FilmMagic, Inc via Getty Images
The Facts
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has said that X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk canceled his new talk show's March 18 premiere on the microblogging platform hours after recording an interview with him.
Lemon posted on X on Wednesday that Musk went "back on his word" and texted him: "contract terminated." However, the billionaire said the journalist's approach "was basically just 'CNN, but on social media',' which doesn't work."
The Spin
Narrative A
Elon Musk was unfortunately just being himself in canceling The Don Lemon Show at the last moment. He was reportedly annoyed at being asked about his alleged antisemitism and the reported use of ketamine. Clearly, some topics cut too close to the free-speech champion's skin. For those like Musk, free speech can apparently be sacrificed if it doesn't end up affirming their own fragile ego.
Narrative B
Irrespective of how big the journalist is, not everyone can successfully transition from conventional television media to producing online content. Don Lemon thought he could continue doing on X what he was best known for doing at CNN. Deflecting the blame on Elon Musk amid such failure is juvenile.