Elon Musk has abruptly terminated a content deal with Don Lemon, a former employee of CNN. The deal cancelation came within 24 hours of the X owner doing a 1½-hour-interview with Lemon.
That interview was to become the inaugural episode of Lemon’s Don Lemon Show on X. This interview, which was to be aired on March 18th 2024, could have reached at least a quarter billion people.
In 2023, statistics showed that active users of X were around 556 million, with 150 million being Musk followers. Meanwhile, primetime viewers of CNN are estimated to be around 540,000.
What Irked Elon Musk?
The cancelation of the show shocked Don Lemon and observers, especially considering the interest Elon Musk had shown before the interview.
Musk began courting Lemon as early as last year, requesting that Lemon bring his show to X. In a May 2023 tweet, Musk pointed out to Lemon that X had a larger audience than most other platforms.
In sections of this week’s interview aired on CNN, Musk can be seen visibly unsettled with some questions Lemon put across. One such question touched on hate speech perpetrated on the X platform.
Lemon cited content regarding the “great replacement theory” as it pertains to the Jews, to explain situations where moderation could be helpful. He suggested that Musk and his team moderate hate-inclined content to avoid receiving backlash from reporters.
In response, Elon Musk said he did not care what reporters thought, and that he only accepted to do the interview with Lemon because of two reasons. One reason was that Lemon is on the X platform, and the other is that Lemon himself had requested for the interview. This last bit of his response seems to raise eyebrows.
Musk, who also owns the electric car company, Tesla, has always presented himself as an advocate for free speech. He emphasized his free speech advocacy in 2022 as he prepared to acquire X, formerly known as Twitter. This is all the more reason the media world is surprised he should shy away from having his interview aired.
Another question suspected to have annoyed the billionaire pertained to his position that ketamine alleviates depression. It is unclear whether Musk thought the question might trigger debate about his alleged use of drugs.
Is Musk Going to Finance Trump?
During the interview, Don Lemon inquired about the possibility of Musk financing Donald Trump in 2024.
Trump is said to be in dire need of money to pay for court fines and legal fees. He also needs funds for his 2024 presidential campaign.
Nevertheless, Don Lemon’s question arose because Musk is said to have recently met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and the visit has elicited a financing rumor.
Mar-a-Lago is a resort club in Florida, a luxurious place formerly owned by a philanthropist known as Marjorie Post. Donald Trump is the current owner of the famous club.
In response to Lemon’s financing question, Musk clarified that at the alleged time he had visited a friend in Florida, and that Trump just popped in casually. He also told Lemon he was not currently financing Donald Trump.
However, he did not disclose if that financing position is likely to remain until the end of 2024. The only thing in the Don Lemon interview Musk was emphatic about was his opposition to the candidacy of President Joe Biden.
Musk, who, for the purpose of voting, is registered as Independent, passes himself as a moderate. However, this has not deterred him from advancing agendas of the Republican Party.
In 2022, he declared his intention to vote for Ron DeSantis, the Governor of Florida, if DeSantis stood for election in the 2024 presidential elections.