ELON Musk’s dad has blasted Don Lemon as a “dimwit” after the ex-CNN anchor sued the tech tycoon over their failed X deal.
Former CNN host Lemon, 58, filed a lawsuit against the world’s richest man and his social media platform X in San Francisco on Thursday.
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He claims that Elon, 53, and X executives enticed him into an exclusive content partnership with “false promises” but killed the deal after an abrasive interview between the pair in March.
Lemon’s complaint alleges that by that stage he had already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to get the show up and running.
It came after Lemon was fired from CNN after 17 years at the network in April last year over a controversial comment he made about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
The heated hour-long interview, which was set to be Lemon’s first for his new X show, included bitter exchanges on racism, censorship, and Musk’s drug use.
Afterward, Elon said he believed Lemon’s show wouldn’t work because it was just “CNN, but on social media.”
Reacting to Lemon’s lawsuit from his home in South Africa, retired electromechanical engineer Errol, 78, said, “Knowing Elon as I do, there is no way he would have canceled the contract if he was not in a position to do so. No way.
“Instead, if he decided after meeting this dimwit that the dimwit was no good, Elon would have looked at other ways of dealing with the situation that would be acceptable.
“Elon knows when he can do something and when he cannot.
“Simply reduce the matter to any possible employee meets possible employer before employment is confirmed or offered, and it’s clear that the employer has a final say.”
Lemon’s lawsuit states that Musk had sought a partnership with him at a time when X – which the Tesla CEO bought in October 2022 – was struggling.
It says that just hours after the interview between Lemon and Musk was taped at Tesla’s Austin headquarters, Lemon’s agent received a text from Musk canceling the deal.
“Executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud,” Lemon’s attorney, Carney Shegerian, said in a statement.
“Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist who’s committed to defending his good name and holding X’s executives accountable.”
The content partnership between X and Lemon was first publicly announced in January.
If he decided after meeting this dimwit that the dimwit was no good, Elon would have looked at other ways of dealing with the situation that would be acceptable.
Errol Musk
According to Lemon’s complaint, Elon had said the host would be paid $1.5 million-plus cash incentives and a portion of advertising revenue for the one-year deal to make exclusive videos for X.
But he admits in the lawsuit that he did not sign a contract for the new deal because Elon told him over the phone that there was no need to “fill out paperwork”.
He also claims that Elon reassured him that X would financially support him even if he did not like Lemon’s views.
However, Elon’s dad said that he believes his son was right to walk away from what he describes as a “ridiculously bad proposal”.
“Lemon’s high-handed interview of Elon, with prepared question cards each aimed at trying to embarrass his potential future employer, was the work of someone very practiced in stupidity,” Errol said.
“Lemon was like a toddler wearing swim-wings that strayed into the area of the high dive swimming pool.
“CNN had already decided Lemon was a deadweight.
“They just waited for the reason to get rid of him.
A timeline of Don Lemon’s doomed show
Don Lemon’s X-based show was recently canceled after Elon Musk seemingly gave it the hook after the first disasterous first interview
JANUARY 2024: Don Lemon announced that he is partnering with X to create a brand new show.
MARCH 2024: Lemon interviews Muskon on several hot topics including the continued use of hate speech on X and Musk’s open use of prescription ketamine.
Mere hours after the interview airs, Musk yanks the show,
August 2024: Lemon files a lawsuit against the X CEO claiming that he lured in under false pretenses.
“The left are so used to normal people caving that he thought he was going to get Elon into a halter and ride him onto the X stage, waving a victory sword in the air or cracking the whip of victory over Elon’s head.
“It was a ridiculously bad proposal.
“Elon had already said no to most demands, like a staff of people and so on.
“It was all subject to final approval by Elon.
“Elon did not approve. End of story.
“Remember, others are doing the groundwork for these things, not Elon.”
Elon Musk Twitter buy timeline
Elon Musk bought the social media app citing altruistic reasonings for his aquisition.
April 2022: Negotiations for Musk to purchase Twitter began.
October 27, 2022: Musk finalized his purchase of X and began his rebranding efforts.
November 1, 2022: Twitter boars is dissolved, making Musk the “sole director” of the site.
July 23, 2023: Musk announces icon rebranding and X users point out the switch. “And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” he wrote.
July 24, 2023: Musk revealed the reason for the rebranding. “The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting – but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video,” he said.
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