Don Lemon filed a fraud and unjust enrichment lawsuit against Elon Musk following the dramatic collapse of their X partnership
According to the former CNN host’s attorneys, X and Musk assured him of substantial cash rewards in exchange for him uploading his news program on the social media network.
Don Lemon, a former CNN reporter, filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk four months after he revealed that his streaming arrangement with the tech mogul’s social media site X had fallen through.
Attorneys for Lemon, 58, made the announcement on Thursday, August 1, that they had filed a complaint in the County of San Francisco against Musk and X (previously Twitter).
Musk and his social media network, in which he invested a majority share back in April 2022, are accused in the case of engaging in fraud and breach of contract, stealing Lemon’s name and likeness, and becoming “unjustly enriched” when the platform retained the profits from.
The Don Lemon Show, which will enable “honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors” and debut exclusively on X, was the brainchild of Lemon and Musk, who announced their partnership in January.
However, Lemon disclosed a few days before the premiere of the show that Musk had abruptly withdrawn from their collaboration, leaving Lemon with no choice but to webcast the first episode of his show on his own. According to Lemon’s attorneys, Musk texted Lemon’s agency to terminate their exclusive relationship with the phrase “contract is canceled.”
Attorneys for Lemon, who was fired abruptly from CNN in April 2023, claim in their petition that Musk and X promised to pay the reporter $1.5 million for his
