Former CNN anchor Don Lemon lost his potentially lucrative deal with Elon Musk’s X platform by making “diva demands,” according to a new report.
Lemon had a tentative deal to host a new show on X.
However, after Lemon recorded the first episode, which featured an interview with Musk, X pulled the commercial deal with the ousted CNN host, as Slay News reported.
Lemon announced last Wednesday that his show had been axed.
In a public meltdown over the move, Lemon claimed it was because “Elon Musk is mad at me.”
However, Musk said Lemon’s show ended up just being “CNN, but on social media” and argued that it “lacked authenticity.”
Now it appears that Lemon’s behavior also played a role in the collapse of the deal.
According to a new report, the whole thing might have fallen apart over Lemon’s “diva demands.”
The New York Post reported that, among other things, Lemon wanted to control the news that was “allowed” to appear on X.
The Post reports that Lemon demanded some control over news content, from all other news sources, that might make its way onto the platform.
Lemon had reportedly told Musk, who also owns aerospace company SpaceX and electric vehicle company Tesla, that he wanted to host the “first podcast in space.”
According to The Post, the alleged list of demands included “a free Tesla Cybertruck, a $5 million upfront payment on top of an $8 million salary, an equity stake in the multibillion-dollar company, and the right to approve any changes in X policy as it relates to news content.”
Lemon also reportedly wanted Musk to use SpaceX to make his dream of hosting the “first podcast in space” happen.
When he set up an interview with Musk — which was initially set to air as his debut episode — Lemon had reportedly attached another list of demands to their planned meeting in Las Vegas.
Among those were a suite, drinks, and massages for Lemon and his fiancé — and a private jet flight on X’s dime.
Despite knowing about the demands at the time of their interview, Musk agreed to do it anyway.
However, Musk cut ties with Lemon afterward, calling him “underwhelming.”
Lemon has responded to the report by blowing off claims that he had asked for such things.
Nevertheless, he didn’t deny them outright.
“That is nonsense,” Lemon told Mediaite’s Aidan McLaughlin.
“People negotiate all the time, but that’s, come on.
“It’s obviously a deflection.
“Because it has nothing to do with the interview, and I’m not going to fall into that.
“I don’t read the New York Post, but I do love their horoscopes.
“It’s great. I’m a Pisces, by the way, so you can read my horoscope to know what’s going on in my life.”
Several clips of the interview have since been released and gone viral.
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