American news anchor, Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk, claiming the tech billionaire failed to pay him properly after their deal for a show on X, formerly known as Twitter, fell apart.
Lemon filed the lawsuit on Thursday. He alleges that Musk promised him $1.5 million a year to create videos for X in an effort to attract more advertisers.
According to the lawsuit, Lemon was also promised a share of advertising revenue and additional cash incentives if his presence on the platform grew.
In the court documents, Lemon claims that Musk assured him of these promises over the phone, even though they did not have a written contract. Lemon argues that Musk’s failure to follow through on these promises is a violation of the law.
The legal troubles began after Lemon’s first project with X, an interview with Musk, reportedly went poorly. Musk was unhappy with Lemon’s questions about drug use and politics. Musk later stated on X that he ended the project because Lemon’s approach to journalism was not up to his standards.
However, Lemon contends that his issues with X started before the interview. He claims he was pressured to announce his new role at a tech conference in Las Vegas, known as CES. Lemon alleges that his deal was threatened if he did not attend the conference alongside X CEO Linda Yaccarino.
Lemon’s lawyer, Carney Shegerian, said, “X’s executives used Don to boost their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and damaged Don’s reputation.” Lemon is suing for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of contract, among other claims. He is seeking damages for the alleged violations.
