Lawyers for former CNN journalist Don Lemon have filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and X Corporation (formerly known as Twitter), accusing the tech mogul and his social media company of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon's name and likeness, and breach of contract.
Lemon's attorneys filed the lawsuit on August 1 in California Superior Court, San Francisco County. A copy of the complaint is available here.
Representatives for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The automated response from the company’s public relations inbox read: “I’m busy right now, please check back later.”
The lawsuit comes after Lemon entered into a content partnership agreement with Musk and X in January 2024 to host exclusive content on X's platform. Musk canceled the partnership in March 2024, texting Lemon's agent “Contract cancelled,” according to the journalist's lawyer.
In her lawsuit, Lemon seeks unspecified monetary damages.
“This case is clear,” Lemon’s attorney, Karni Chegerian, said in a statement. “X executives used Don to boost their advertising sales, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud. You don’t have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence and reputational damage here. Don is a brilliant and strong journalist who is committed to defending his good name and holding X executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court.”
Lemon's lawyers alleged that Musk — who has more than 192 million followers on Twitter — “has repeatedly tweeted negatively about Lemon” since March 2024.
More is coming.
