Elon Musk and X asked a federal judge to throw out former CNN host Don Lemon’s lawsuit alleging they defrauded him by canceling a partnership on the social media platform after a controversial interview.
In an appearance Monday night in San Francisco federal court, Musk said he did nothing wrong by telling Lemon he “didn’t need” to sign a contract and that he and X would give Lemon “authority and complete control” over his work even. if they didn’t like his views.
Musk called it unreasonable for Lemon to rely on a vague statement that a written contract was unnecessary for a multimillion-dollar partnership.
The billionaire also blamed Lemon for the partnership’s collapse in March, saying he genuinely believed it would work before Lemon “ruined the relationship by conducting an invasive and inappropriate interview with him.”
Lemon’s interview addressed content moderation, hate speech and Musk’s drug use, among other topics.
Attorneys for Lemon did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
X also asked for a dismissal of Lemon’s lawsuit, saying the disruption of a high-profile business deal “may be grounds for hurt feelings” but did not entitle him to prevail.
Lemon asked for a minimum of $1.5 million plus a share of advertising revenue in the first year, and potentially millions more for attracting followers and advertisers to X.
Many advertisers concerned about hate speech and misinformation on X left the platform once known as Twitter following Musk’s $44 billion acquisition in 2022.
Musk’s other businesses include Tesla and SpaceX.
In seeking a dismissal of Lemon’s lawsuit, Musk also said the case did not belong in California, originally in state court, because he was a Texas resident while Lemon lived in New York. He said the case could be moved to Texas.
Lemon spent 17 years at CNN, becoming one of its most popular personalities.
He was fired in April 2023, two months after he made on-air comments about women and then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley that were widely perceived as sexist. Lemon later apologized.
The case is Lemon v. Musk et al, US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-06487.
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