Don Lemon Files Lawsuit Against Elon Musk And X For Canceling Deal For His Talk Show

Don Lemon is suing X, formerly known as Twitter, and its owner, Elon Musk .

According to Variety , the former CNN journalist accuses the tech billionaire and social media platform of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness, and breach of express contract.

Lemon’s attorneys filed the suit on Thursday in California’s San Francisco Superior Court. X representatives did not initially respond to Variety’s request for comment. Later, the company’s PR email sent the outlet a message.

“Busy now, please check back later,” it read.

Lemon signed a content partnership deal with Musk and X in January to host exclusive content on the platform. Musk cancelled the partnership in March via text, writing “contract is canceled” to Lemon’s agent, according to his lawyers.

Rolling Stone reported the firing came just hours after the two filmed an interview set to air exclusively on the platform. Lemon shared a statement announcing the dissolution, noting he was told he was sacked because of X’s “public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices.”

Lemon is seeking unknown monetary compensation.

“This case is straightforward. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud. You don’t have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here,” Lemon’s attorney, Carney Shegerian, said in a statement, Variety reported. “Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist who’s committed to defending his good name and holding X’s executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court.”

According to the lawsuit, Musk, who has more than 192 million X followers, has “tweeted negatively about Lemon repeatedly” since March. Musk took to the platform to criticize Lemon’s interview, writing, “His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.”

Lemon has yet to address the lawsuit publicly.