Elon Musk says ‘pompous fool’ Don Lemon is still free to upload his show to X AND receive advertising revenue despite spat over questions
Elon Musk has branded Don Lemon a “pompous fool” after the two men had a spectacular falling out following an interview for the former CNN star’s new X show.
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The billionaire posted shortly after Lemon appeared on The View to detail their fractured relationship and their upcoming sit-down interview.
Musk approached Lemon to debut a new chat show on X following his resignation from CNN in April 2023.
But the Tesla and SpaceX tycoon canceled his contract after a tense interview for the same show that was recently filmed.
Musk has shared his thoughts on Don Lemon after Lemon spoke about their strained relationship during Friday’s episode of The View
Don Lemon revealed Elon Musk grilled him about his private conversations with Donald Trump before the ‘tense’ interview led to the Tesla billionaire’s decision to quit his show
That saw Lemon grill his former boss about an increase in hate speech on X since Musk bought the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The show is still shown on X, but Musk and Lemon no longer have an exclusive contract, so the show is also broadcast elsewhere.
“I think getting fired by Elon Musk is something you should wear as a badge of honor,” host Ana Navarro told Lemon.
Despite the division, Lemon revealed that he was able to gather some more information about Musk’s relationship with Donald Trump, who has been in the spotlight following reports that the two billionaires had met.
Lemon appeared on The View on Friday to announce the upcoming show, which is still happening via other platforms, where he was consoled about the cancellation
Lemon was set to team up with Musk’s X before things turned sour after the former CNN host questioned him about the increase in hate speech on his app
“Has he shown 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.
The South African CEO invited Lemon to bring his show to X after the former CNN host was dumped by the network in April 2023 following allegations of misogyny.
But Musk walked back the multimillion-dollar deal just hours after the sit-down, where Lemon asked him about hate speech on Twitter and his drug use.
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.
Musk walked back the multimillion-dollar deal hours after the sit-down, where Lemon asked him about hate speech on Twitter and his drug use
Speculation arose that Musk might endorse Trump after the two met in Florida. Pictured: President Donald Trump talks with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at the White House, February 3, 2017
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.’
The exchange prompted The View co-host Joy Behar to label Musk a “snowflake” and ask Lemon if he knew what he was getting into with the controversial billionaire.
“There’s an old saying in the South: You knew I was a snake when you picked me up. I’m not saying he’s a snake, but it’s relative to this situation that I went into it with my eyes open.
‘I actually went into it with the best intentions. I’m an independent, no matter what people think, Elon Musk thinks I’m on the left, I’m an independent.
‘I believe in freedom of expression. I believe that people have the right to say what they want to say, but you have to bear the consequences.
‘Twitter or X is one of the largest information platforms in the world, so why hand it over to extremists? I wanted to join them and fight it out so everyone could have a voice.”
Lemon revealed he was able to gather some more information about Musk’s relationship with Donald Trump, who has been in the spotlight following reports that the two had met
Musk has stated that he will not support any candidate in the upcoming elections
Lemon previously claimed he had no idea why Musk became “so upset” by the interview. The billionaire countered that he quit the show after discovering that Lemon’s approach was “basically just CNN, but on social media.”
“And instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was actually just Jeff Zucker speaking through Don, so it lacked authenticity,” he wrote on Twitter.
In the clips that emerged from the piece, which Lemon described as “occasional tense,” the pair covered a wide range of topics, including Musk’s drug use, his lack of support for Joe Biden and issues of moderation at X.
CNN aired footage of Lemon asking Musk about his recreational use of the horse tranquilizer ketamine.
Much has been made of the Tesla founder’s use of the drug and he himself has admitted to using it.
“The reason I mentioned prescription ketamine on the X platform is because I thought, ‘Maybe this is something other people can benefit from.’ That’s why I mentioned it.
“I’m obviously not a doctor, but I would say that if someone is having depression issues, they should consider talking to their doctor about ketamine.”