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Don Lemon’s got his feathers ruffled again. And if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that’s pretty much his default setting—always finding something to get worked up about. Only this time, instead of unleashing his usual tirade on Trump and his fan base, he’s got Elon Musk in his sights. As you may know, Don Lemon was all set to kick off his new show on X, hoping to mirror Tucker’s success, but let’s be honest, chances were it’d fall flat, like everything Don touches. After what Lemon describes as a friendly sit-down interview with Elon, things took a nasty turn. After the interview wrapped up, Elon quickly axed the show, leaving Lemon out in the cold. Lemon’s convinced he got the boot because of their interview, and he’s been griping on X ever since. But keep in mind, Elon’s got a totally different spin on what went down.

It sounds like Elon dodged a bullet.

Radar: 

Former CNN host Don Lemon claims his new X show was canceled by Elon Musk hours after he interviewed the tech mogul for the debut episode, RadarOnline.com has learned.

Lemon sat down with Musk last week to film the first interview for The Don Lemon Show, which was set to premiere on X and YouTube.

“Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X … he informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday,” Lemon said in a statement posted to his X account on Wednesday.

After outlining Musk’s “encouragement” and “full support” for Lemon’s show, the ex-CNN host said, “There were no restrictions on the interview that he willingly agreed to.”

Lemon said his questions were “respectful and wide ranging” and covered “everything from SpaceX to the presidential election.”

“We had a good conversation. Clearly he felt differently,” Lemon added.

“His 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’s take on the situation paints a much different picture. He says Don Lemon’s pitching to bring a “CNN-style” show to X. But let’s be real: who’s asking for more “CNN” in their lives? Not many, according to Elon, who quickly shut down that idea. I guess we all owe Elon a “thank you” for saving us from that hell, right?

The X Business account issued an official statement on the Don Lemon show:

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Here’s what Elon said in response to the cancellation:

“His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying. And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity. All this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else.”

So the show won’t be banned; X just won’t be directly sponsoring it. And it’s pretty easy to see Elon’s point. Don Lemon, with his history as one of the most divisive and bitter figures out there, played a big part in CNN’s nosedive.

OK! Magazine:

CNN is in deep trouble.

The network’s ratings are plummeting drastically — with nighttime news shows gaining less traffic than their daytime programs, a new investigative report revealed.

Journalist Dylan Byers recently revealed the shockingly low numbers of The Source With Kaitlan Collins, a show broadcasted during the primetime spot of 9 p.m.

In January and February of this year, Kaitlan Collins’ nightly news show averaged just over 600,000 viewers total, according to the Puck senior correspondent, with Dana Bash’s noontime show, Insider Politics, completely outdoing her colleague’s analytics.

The thought of X sponsoring that same toxic energy and low ratings? No, thank you. Remember the time Don and his panel acted like they were back in high school, openly ridiculing Trump supporters and dissolving into fits of laughter? That moment alone speaks volumes about the kind of “flavor” he’d likely introduce to X.

It looks like Elon has no interest in going down the same drain CNN is, all thanks to Don Lemon. Guess Lemon will just have to post his content on X like the rest of us, without sponsorship, and hope it’s compelling enough to go viral, rack up views, and change the conversation.

Let’s just say we won’t be betting on that outcome.

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