Dive Brief:

• Don Lemon’s state court lawsuit filed Thursday accuses Elon Musk and X, formerly known as Twitter, of fraud, contract breach, misappropriation, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment. The suit says Lemon invested hundreds of thousands of dollars on staff and equipment to produce content for X.
• Lemon agreed in January to a one-year exclusive deal that would pay him $1.5 million plus 60% of gross advertising revenue generated from his content, threshold payments for increased follower numbers and sole ownership of all content he created for X, according to the lawsuit.
• Musk ended the agreement in March following a contentious interview with Lemon, in which the host posed questions about Musk’s drug use and Musk’s views about immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Dive Insight:

Lemon was reluctant throughout 2023 to join X because of reputational damage the company had suffered and a defection of advertisers, according to the lawsuit. 

He was persuaded after several entreaties from Musk and X’s chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, over several months, culminating in a verbal agreement on Jan. 8 for Lemon to create content for the platform, according to the lawsuit. Yaccarino is also a defendant in the suit.

“After Defendants persistent and ongoing material promises and representations referenced above, including that Lemon would have Defendants’ full support, as well as full authority and control over the work he produced even if disliked by Defendants, Lemon agreed to enter this exclusive partnership deal with Defendants,” the suit says. 

X had planned to use new programming to lure back advertisers and required Lemon to appear at a company event at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas the day after he agreed to the partnership, according to the lawsuit. 

Lemon had an “express contract” with X regarding their partnership based on verbal agreements, but did not have a written contract, according to Shegerian & Associates of Los Angeles, which is representing Lemon.

An X executive later told Lemon that the company would not pay him “because there was no signed agreement, despite Musk previously representing to Lemon that there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to ‘fill out paperwork,’” according to the lawsuit.

X, formerly known as Twitter, has seen its advertising revenue plummet since Musk acquired the platform in October 2022. Lemon appeared on CNN for 17 years until he was fired in April 2023.

“Lemon was a top prospect” for X, according to the lawsuit. “A gay, Black man with an excellent reputation and a household name, he was the perfect candidate to partner with to aid their dying advertisement revenue.” 

Besides Lemon’s planned show, X in January also announced programs from former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Jim Rome, a sportscaster who hosts a three-hour weekday show on the site.

Musk was the first guest on Lemon’s new X show, an interview in which the billionaire grew tense over questions about his use of ketamine to treat depression and other issues on which Musk has courted controversy.

Within a day of the March 8 interview, Musk sent a text message – “contract is canceled” – to Lemon’s agent. Several days later, Musk wrote on Twitter that Lemon’s show was “basically just CNN but on social media, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.”

X and Musk could not immediately be reached for comment about the lawsuit.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article said that X’s CEO was not a defendant in the lawsuit.