Ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon reportedly made a list of extravagant demands while negotiating his short-lived contract with X, attempting to extract a free Tesla Cybertruck, a $5 million advance payment, and an equity stake in the company from platform owner Elon Musk.
According to documents first obtained by The New York Post, Lemon’s representatives at United Talent Agency presented the former newscaster’s demands to X in December, shortly before the partnership between them was announced.
In the proposal, Lemon attempted to secure an annual salary of $8 million in exchange for putting “The Don Lemon Show” exclusively on X. In addition to numerous other perks, he also wanted the right to approve any changes made to X’s new content policies.
Sources further suggest that Lemon demanded a private flight to Las Vegas and a hotel suite for himself and his fiancé at the Consumer Electronic Show, which Lemon claimed X was requiring him to attend. This arrangement would have required X to cover the couple’s massages and bar tabs during the trip as well. Representatives for X have denied requiring Lemon to attend the event, calling it “a disingenuous lie.”
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However, despite Musk (fully aware of the demands) agreeing to sit for an interview, an X spokesperson told the Post that the deal was far from finalized. As Valuetainment previously reported, the X owner found the one-and-a-half-hour interview so “underwhelming” and “dull” that he immediately opted to cancel the contract with Lemon.
The interview—which went live on X and YouTube on Monday—included multiple tense exchanges about Musk’s political leanings, his content moderation policies, and his recreational drug use.
The Don Lemon Show episode 1: Elon Musk
TIMESTAMPS:
(02:23) News on X
(10:07) Donald Trump and Endorsing a Candidate
(13:04) The New Tesla Roadster
(16:46) Relaxation and Video Games
(17:54) Tweeting and Drug Use
(23:19) The Great Replacement Theory
(30:03) Content Moderation… pic.twitter.com/bLRae4DhyO— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 18, 2024
Related: Ex-Twitter Execs Sue Elon Musk for $128 Million in Unpaid Severance
Prior to the episode’s release, Lemon claimed that he had been fired by X because “[Musk’s] commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me.”
Elon Musk canceled #TheDonLemonShow👀
Watch on YouTube and listen everywhere on Monday March 18. pic.twitter.com/AAhnvcY0ny
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 13, 2024
In response to the allegations about Lemon’s demands, a representative from United Talent Agency told the Post, “There is nothing in your list of demands that you claim Don made of X that is true. Literally nothing.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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