Don Lemon Claps Back After Fallout With Elon Musk: 'Did He Really Expect For Me To Simply Lavish Him With Praise'

In a recent episode of “The Don Lemon Show,” the former CNN host Don Lemon defended his interview with Elon Musk and suggested two other media figures Musk could speak to after their interview led to the cancellation of Lemon’s partnership with X.

What Happened: Lemon defended his interview with Musk, stating that it was a “free exchange of ideas.” He mentioned that they discussed serious issues such as the electoral college, the future of automotives, and the complexities of DEI.

“Did he really expect for me to simply lavish him with praise for an hour? If so, he could've sat down with Megyn Kelly or Tucker Carlson,” Lemon said.

These comments come after Musk abruptly canceled the proposed partnership with X following the interview, where Lemon questioned Musk about his posts regarding the antisemitic “great replacement theory” and advertisers who had left X.

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Musk described Lemon’s approach as “basically just ‘CNN, but on social media'” after announcing the cancellation of the partnership.

Lemon, in an appearance on Mediaite’s “Press Club” podcast, found Musk’s remarks “very telling.” He said that Musk hired him for his approach, which is similar to what Tucker Carlson, another former cable news anchor, is doing on the platform.

Despite the fallout, Lemon expressed that he was glad Musk chose to have a sit-down with an “independent journalist” for a “real conversation.”

Why It Matters: Lemon and Musk have been having a go at each other over the scrapped deal to post content on X.

Lemon reportedly made extravagant demands like a free Tesla Cybertruck, a $5 million advance over and above a salary of $8 million, an equity stake in X, and more.

He even wanted the power to change X’s policy on news content. While Musk was said to be aware of these demands before his interview with Lemon, X went back on the deal.

Musk described Lemon as “dull” and “underwhelming” after the interview, and later compared him to Veruca Salt, a spoilt English child from the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

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