Don Lemon demanded Elon Musk send him to SPACE for the first podcast from a rocket as well as wanting a free Tesla cybertruck and $5M upfront to host X show that he’d have full control over
Don Lemon didn’t just want a partnership with X, he wanted to run the show with a series of bizarre demands that he monitor and censor news content and talent across the platform, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Last week, Lemon, 58, was unceremoniously dismissed from talks about a partnership with the social media platform following a car-wreck interview with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, 52.
Now DailyMail.com can reveal that the real reason Musk pulled the plug on the deal was his belief that Lemon “wants censorship so badly that (he) can taste it.”
For his part, Lemon has claimed he was fired because Musk reneged on his promise of “free speech.” But according to a source familiar with the deal, it was Lemon who wanted to curb free speech.
Last week, Elon Musk cut ties with Don Lemon after they were in talks for Lemon to have his own show on X, formerly known as Twitter
Musk revisited the multimillion-dollar deal just hours after their sit-down interview, where Lemon asked him about hate speech on Twitter and his drug use
The source said: “If you look through Don’s questions, they fluctuate between luxury, to the extreme, to censorship.
“Luxury is when you ask for a flashy new car (the Tesla Cybertruck) and you ask for $5 million upfront.
“Far-out is one of his demands: to be the first podcast in space.”
DailyMail.com has seen paperwork detailing Lemon’s original demands. It confirms that, despite previous denials from Lemon’s representatives, these demands include a $5 million advance, a $10 million annual marketing commitment from Get Tesla Cybertruck.
The source continued, “Where it comes to censorship is that Don wanted control and input over every creator who came to the platform.
“He wanted to have a voice in the type of news information that would appear on the platform.
“Separately, he wanted to make decisions about the platform’s policies.”
The requirements state that Lemon must be consulted by X “when making decisions regarding news content on the platform/any policy changes regarding content;” that he will “receive a percentage of the budget on X’s future spend on original content” and, breathtakingly, “not approve any other news/current affairs talent deals/partnerships in the first year at X.”
Musk shared his thoughts after Lemon opened up about their strained relationship during Friday’s episode of The View
DailyMail.com has seen paperwork detailing Lemon’s original demands, which included a Tesla Cybertruck
Lemon claimed he was fired because Musk reneged on his ‘free speech’ promise – but source says it was Lemon who wanted control over the content
The source explained, “So they have demands and they are working on them, but nothing has been signed. Then he sits down with Elon and Elon says, “I see where you’re going and I don’t like it.”
That moment came during the debut episode of The Don Lemon show, when Lemon pressed his alleged boss on his refusal to remove content that the broadcaster described as “hate speech,” and blasted Musk for not practicing “better content moderation.”
Musk responded that X removes everything illegal, but never goes beyond the letter of the law. He told Lemon, “Moderation is a propaganda word for censorship.”
Clearly frustrated, he continued: “You desperately want censorship. You want censorship so bad you can taste it.”
At that point, the source told DailyMail.com, “It’s like, based on the demands and based on this interview and based on how it all feels, they’re not going to engage with Don anymore.”
The rug was pulled.
Lemon was fired hours after Musk called the anchor “boring” and “disappointing.”
The hour-and-a-half grilling included tense conversations about Musk’s political leanings, his prescribed use of ketamine, a meeting with Trump and the so-called promotion of the Great Replacement Theory.
The source added, “Was Elon frustrated? Yes. Has Don shown his cards? Yes.’
Musk further wrote about X: “Even though I think Don (lemon emoji) is a pompous fool talking nonsense, he is still free to upload his show to
The first interview of the Don Lemon Show on X is viewed more often than on YouTube. As of 5 p.m., it was 1.5 million impressions/views on X versus 540,000 on YouTube.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for X said, “X cannot comment on the terms discussed between Don Lemon and
Lemon went on The View on Friday where he revealed that he was able to gather some more information about Musk’s relationship with Trump
Lemon went on The View on Friday where he revealed he was able to gather some more information about Musk’s relationship with Trump, which has been in the spotlight following reports that the two billionaires had met.
“Did he show his hand whether he would support Trump?” host Alyssa Griffin asked.
“He talked about the meeting, why he went there, the context and the location and he talked to me about what the former president had to say,” Lemon responded.
Musk met with Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, fueling speculation that he was about to provide a much-needed cash injection to the presidential candidate’s campaign.
Few details have been released about the meeting, although Musk publicly denied he would endorse a candidate shortly afterwards.
In a clip played on The View, Lemon asked Musk about X-users and hate speech, including the “great replacement theory” that Musk himself has amplified.
The ‘Great Replacement Theory’ preaches that white European populations are being replaced demographically and culturally by non-white peoples – especially from Muslim countries.
But the billionaire was unimpressed and refused to answer the question directly, telling Lemon that he did not have to agree to the interview.
‘I don’t have to answer questions from reporters. The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform and asked for it. I get criticized all the time, I don’t care,” Musk said.