Amidst the swirl of accusations, Don Lemon's purported demands for equity in X and the authority to oversee modifications to its news content policies have emerged as key talking points. However, Lemon's representative, Jay Sures from UTA, vehemently rejected the allegations, branding them as baseless fabrications. According to a report in the New York Post on Friday, Lemon had presented a lavish "wish list" to Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), during negotiations for his proposed show. This purported wishlist included an annual salary of $8 million, a upfront payment of $5 million, a Tesla Cybertruck, equity in X, and veto rights over any changes to the platform's news policies.
Sures, Lemon's agent, retorted, declaring to The Post, "This is pure, unadulterated fiction, devoid of any shred of truth." (The Hollywood Reporter has contacted UTA for further comment.) The revelations emerged just days after Lemon disclosed that Musk had abruptly terminated "my partnership with X," mere hours after Lemon had interviewed him for the show's inaugural episode, slated for Friday.
On the same day, Musk took to X to liken Lemon to Veruca Salt, a character from Willy Wonka. Despite the canceled X deal, Lemon's interview with Musk, originally scheduled for release on X on Friday and YouTube on Monday, will still be available on YouTube on March 18. Moreover, Lemon revealed that all subsequent episodes will be exclusively accessible on YouTube.
In a response to a thread on X, Musk clarified that he scrapped Lemon's show because "it essentially mirrored CNN's approach, but on social media, which is ineffective, given CNN's declining fortunes. Furthermore, instead of featuring the genuine Don Lemon, it was essentially Jeff Zucker speaking through him, lacking authenticity."
X issued a statement, emphasizing its commitment to free speech and welcoming Lemon's content on the platform without censorship. "However, like any organization, we have the prerogative to make decisions regarding our business partnerships. After thorough deliberation, X decided against entering into a commercial partnership with The Don Lemon Show," the statement concluded.
