If you’ve been paying close attention, then you know journalist and podcast host Don Lemon has all the smoke for tech giant Elon Musk. Last year, Lemon sued Musk after the abrupt cancelation of his show on X — which Musk owns. Now, a court ruling has kicked the beef up to a new level.
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Lemon filed the suit back in August after a tense interview between him and the former DOGE head resulted in his partnership with the billionaire being tossed. The interview was supposed to kickstart the premiere of Lemon’s new show on Musk’s social network, but clearly, that didn’t happen.
Instead, the journalist decided to take things to the courts, alleging a breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, defamation, retaliation, negligence, harassment, fraud and misappropriation of name and likeness, according to the New York Post.
The Tesla boss responded to the lawsuit on Aug. 2 on X saying, “He [Lemon] made a series of impressively insane demands. We declined. Therefore, there was no deal.” According to reports, Lemon demanded a $5 million upfront payment in addition to an $8 million salary. This was all on top of an equity stake in the social media platform.
Musk tried to get the case thrown out, even attempting to move it to a Texas court, but that fell through, CNBC reported. Now, a judge in San Francisco has ruled in favor of Lemon… but there’s a twist.
Although the ex-CNN host was hoping to score a complete legal win, Judge Harold Kahn ruled on Tuesday (July 8) to throw out Lemon’s claims of negligent misrepresentation, defamation, retaliation, negligence and harassment. He can, however, continue with breach of implied contract, misappropriation of name and likeness and fraud claims in the filing.
The interview between the two men went viral as Lemon probed Musk over touchy politics, his relationship with President Donald Trump, immigration, his handling of X after he bought the social media platform in 2022 and his questionable ketamine prescription. Musk was obviously offended, even telling Lemon “It’s pretty private to ask somebody about a medical prescription.”
Since then, the two haven’t seen eye to eye. But now, they must face each other again in a trial. “The ruling means Don can hold X and Musk accountable in open court,” Lemon’s attorney, Carney Shegerian, said in a statement.
“Musk is subject to the legal process, just like everyone else, and that’s important,” the attorney continued. “There’s no question about Musk’s motives and liability, as documented in his own texts and on X for millions to see.” An official date has not be set yet.
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