- Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has said that X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk canceled his new talk show's March 18 premiere on the microblogging platform hours after recording an interview with him. CNBC (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Lemon posted on X on Wednesday that Musk went "back on his word" and texted him: "contract terminated." However, the billionaire said the journalist's approach "was basically just 'CNN, but on social media',' which doesn't work." Guardian (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- X said that though it had canceled the commercial deal with Lemon, he could publish his show "without censorship." However, Lemon, who alleged Musk was "mad" at him, reportedly plans to air the interview on YouTube and as a podcast on Monday. Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- While Lemon said he had "a good conversation" with Musk during the "tense" interview, he stated that the Tesla CEO "felt differently." Wall Street Journal
- When the Lemon-X deal was announced in January, Lemon had called X "the biggest space for free speech." X already streams former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson's show. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- Lemon lost his CNN job last April, following criticism surrounding his on-air comments and the publication of a Variety magazine report on his alleged long-running misogynistic behavior. POLITICO
Narrative A:
- "Adult toddler" Elon Musk was simply being himself in canceling The Don Lemon Show at the last moment. He was reportedly annoyed at being asked about his alleged antisemitism and the reported use of ketamine. Clearly, some topics cut too close to the free-speech champion's skin. For folks like him, free speech may be sacrificed if it doesn't end up affirming their own fragile ego.
MINT
Narrative B:
- Irrespective of how big the journalist is, not everyone can successfully transition from conventional television media to producing online content. Don Lemon thought he could continue doing on X what he was best known for doing at CNN. Deflecting the blame on Elon Musk amid such failure is juvenile.
FOX NEWS (LR: 4 CP: 4)
Nerd narrative:
- There's a 66% chance that Elon Musk will face US federal criminal charges or an SEC civil complaint before 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)