NY Post: Don Lemon, X Split After List of Extensive Demands

(AP)

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon reportedly demanded a multimillion-dollar salary and more during his contract talks with X to host a series on the social media platform, leading platform owner Elon Musk to compare him to a “Willy Wonka” character.

Lemon’s wish list reportedly included a $5 million upfront payment in addition to an $8 million salary, a free Tesla Cybertruck, equity in X, and the right to approve changes in the company’s policy relating to news content, reports the New York Post, quoting a document it said it reviewed that had been sent from Lemon’s agents at United Talent Agency (UTA) to X officials in December.

Lemon and UTA have both denied the report, with Jay Sures, vice chairman at UTA telling the Post that the claims are “absolute, complete utter nonsense without an iota of truth to it.”

A spokesperson for Lemon also told the newspaper, “There is nothing in your list of demands that you claim Don made of X that is true. Literally nothing.”

But Musk Friday night referred to Lemon as “Don ‘Veruca Salt’ Lemon,” with a picture of a lemon replacing the last name, referring to the former CNN anchor as the spoiled rich girl from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” who wanted everything “now.”

Meanwhile, the Post reports that Lemon, who had been expected to air his interview with Musk for his debut episode next week on X, had demanded a private jet to fly him and his fiance to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronic Show.

He also reportedly demanded a suite at the MGM-run Vdara on the Las Vegas Strip and for the company to pay for alcoholic beverages and massages and more, a source said to have knowledge of the situation told the publication.

The partnership between Lemon and X was announced in January, but an X spokesman said the company didn’t have a final or signed agreement with Lemon or his show before Musk sat for his interview last week.

Just hours after the interview, Lemon was fired, and Musk called him “dull” and “underwhelming.”

The interview is scheduled to run on YouTube next week and includes exchanges about Musk’s past drug use, his political leanings, and the content moderation policy on X.

Lemon said the company let him go after Musk reneged on his pledge for “free speech.”

His talks with X started shortly after CNN fired him last April after a series of incidents, including his comments disparaging then-presidential candidate Nikki Haley.

Lemon further told tech journalist Kara Swisher Friday that X had threatened to fire him if he didn’t attend the Consumer Electronic Show.

Meanwhile, negotiations to bring Lemon and his show onto X progressed after Musk hired former NBCUniversal advertising executive Linda Yaccarino as CEO of X. But the talks stalled over Lemon’s demands, also including executive assistants and a marketing budget ranging from $10 million to $15 million, people with knowledge of the situation told the Post.