By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – Elon Musk and X asked a federal judge to dismiss former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s lawsuit claiming they defrauded him by canceling a partnership on the social media platform following a contentious interview.
In a Monday night filing in San Francisco federal court, Musk said he did nothing wrong by allegedly telling Lemon there was “no need” to sign a contract, and that he and X would give Lemon “full authority and control” over his work even if they did not like his views.
Musk called it unreasonable for Lemon to rely on a vague statement that a written contract was unnecessary for a multimillion-dollar partnership.
The billionaire also blamed the collapse of the partnership in March on Lemon, saying he genuinely believed it would work before Lemon “soured the relationship by conducting an invasive and inappropriate interview of him.”
Lemon’s interview addressed content moderation, hate speech and Musk’s drug use, among other subjects.
X also sought a dismissal of the lawsuit, saying a breakdown of a high-profile business arrangement “may be grounds for upset feelings” but did not entitle Lemon to prevail. It also objected to what it called his “invasive and charged interview” of Musk.
Carney Shegerian, a lawyer for Lemon, said in an email: “X’s response confirms the company terminated its contract with Don after he asked interview questions that Musk didn’t like. This comes after months of X courting Don relentlessly to boost their tanking ad sales.
“This filing is clearly about Musk’s ego, not the facts,” Shegerian added. “We look forward to our day in court.”
Lemon sought a minimum $1.5 million plus a share of advertising revenue in the first year, and potentially millions of dollars more for drawing followers and advertisers to X.
Many advertisers concerned about hate speech and misinformation on X fled the platform once known as Twitter following Musk’s $44 billion takeover in 2022.
Musk’s other businesses include Tesla (NASDAQ:) and SpaceX.
In seeking a dismissal of Lemon’s lawsuit, Musk also said the case did not belong in California, originally in a state court, because he was a Texas resident while Lemon lived in New York. He said the case could alternatively be moved to Texas.
Lemon spent 17 years at CNN, becoming one of its most recognizable personalities.
He was fired in April 2023, two months after making on-air comments about women and then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley that were widely perceived as sexist. Lemon later apologized.
The case is Lemon v. Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-06487.