‘Adult toddler’ Elon Musk gets irritated by journalist’s questions, cancels Twitter deal with The Don Lemon Show

US journalist Don Lemon shared insights into his “tense” interaction with Elon Musk. Initially, Musk invited Lemon to host a new show on X (formerly Twitter), promising full support.

During a chat with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Lemon revealed key points from their 90-minute discussion, touching on various subjects. Lemon questioned Musk on the increased hate speech on X and Musk's interaction with Donald Trump, among other topics.

“I don’t have to answer questions from reporters, Don. The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform and you asked for it. Otherwise, I would not do this interview,” Musk replied.

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Lemon also probed Musk about his ketamine use, to which Musk responded with a mention of a prescription. As per CNN sources, Musk got irritated when Lemon asked him about antisemitism, his use of ketamine and his government security clearance.

Musk later decided to cancel an agreement with Lemon. He texted Lemon’s rep that “contract is canceled”, the publication added.

Following the interview, X retracted its offer to Lemon, citing business decision rights. Despite the absence of a formal contract, Lemon's representatives claim a mutual agreement was in place, hinting at possible legal action for financial terms.

Also Read: Elon Musk's xAI to open-source AI rival ‘Grok’ amid lawsuit against OpenAI

Lemon posted a video where he called Musk a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist”.

“But apparently free speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me,” he said.

“Throughout our conversation, I kept reiterating to him, although it was tense at times, I thought it was good for people to see our exchange,” Lemon added.

Lemon has asked viewers to make sure that they watch the yet-to-be-aired episode on March 18 on YouTube. He encouraged people to watch it on X as well because he would “still” post the video on the platform.

Journalist Kara Swisher slams Musk

Journalist Kara Swisher has said that she warned Lemon that such things would happen.

While calling Musk “adult toddler”, she said, “The much touted multi-million-dollar deal was a pricey effort to attract high profile media creators to X. Not so much when perpetually aggrieved billionaires in desperate need for constant affirmation run the place. So much for free speech.”

Musk defends himself

Musk posted on X that Lemon was welcome to monetise on the micro-blogging platform “just like everyone else”.

Also Read: Elon Musk's X gears up to launch long-form videos on smart TVs

“What we aren’t going to do is guarantee minimum payments to him, as he was demanding, which would be going beyond everyone else!” Musk added.

Musk critiqued Lemon's approach as a mere extension of CNN on social media, lacking authenticity. While using an emoticon for “Lemon”, Musk said the journalist was trying to “rehash the dying CNN business model”.