Former CNN anchor Don Lemon provided his side of the story following X owner and billionaire Elon Musk canceling a deal to distribute the journalist’s new talk show on the platform, insisting to the co-hosts of "The View" that he did nothing wrong.
"I was doing my job," Lemon told his co-hosts on Friday, detailing how he believed Musk terminated the X deal for "The Don Lemon Show" because the billionaire did not like the tough questions Lemon asked him during their recent exclusive interview.
Lemon announced on social media Wednesday, "Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X, which they announced as part of their public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices on their platform. He informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday."
DON LEMON DROPPED BY X, CLAIMS ELON MUSK RETALIATED OVER THEIR INTERVIEW: HE'S 'MAD AT ME'
Musk responded to Lemon’s post shortly after, stating that he separated from the show because he didn’t like his "approach."
He stated, "His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying. And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity."
The interview will still air as part of the first episode of The Don Lemon Show on Monday.
On "The View," the former CNN man claimed he didn’t deserve such treatment, and questioned Musk’s commitment to free speech for not letting him ask the questions he wanted in the interview.
Lemon explained to the sympathetic co-hosts that he felt taking his show to X would be a great opportunity, but noted he wanted to keep his brand of politics for the show. He asked, "Why cede that platform to extremists? So I wanted to get on there and I fight it out so everyone could have a voice."
He agreed with co-host Joy Behar’s point that X’s people had been "begging" him to join the platform.
ELON MUSK DECLARES 'CNN IS DYING' IN DON LEMON SPAT AS NETWORK LANGUISHES IN RATINGS
"They were," Lemon said, before moving on to criticizing Musk for slamming his show’s content when "he knew who I was."
"He knows who Don Lemon is, he knew who I was. He asked me to come on the platform. He offered incentives and money. They agreed to a deal. They flew me out to Las Vegas to announce this at CES. They trotted me out in front of clients, in front of advertisers. I went to the X offices to do client meetings and to try to entice advertisers back to the platform."
"So, I was a good solider," Lemon declared, "I was doing my job."
He then gave his theory as to why Musk rejected him, claiming he thought the billionaire just couldn’t handle perspectives critical of him.
"So, what happened? I think it was just uncomfortable for him to sit in front of someone and actually have to answer questions, to be held accountable, to really, you know – instead of being in a friendly — usually for the most part his interviews are with a friendly crowd."
After Behar chimed in again, noting that Musk clearly wanted Lemon to "kneel" at his "altar," Lemon added, "But that’s not what journalists do."
In a Friday post on X, Musk attacked Lemon as a "pompous fool" and added, "He is still free to upload his show to 𝕏 and will receive advertising revenue."
