Former CNN anchor Don Lemon gave some context Wednesday for Elon Musk’s decision to cancel the newsman’s forthcoming show on X, providing CNN with some clips of Lemon’s pre-recorded interview with the billionaire.
Speaking to former colleague Erin Burnett on Out Front about Musk’s change of plans, Lemon was asked how the reversal came about.
“That’s a good question for Elon Musk, quite frankly. What happened, I don’t know,” Lemon said, before referring to his statement earlier Wednesday, in which he said he was informed of Musk’s decision “hours after an interview I conducted with him” last Friday.
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While acknowledging the interview “was tense in moments,” Lemon said he still “felt really good” about it.
Musk, for his part, tried to explain away the controversy by saying that Lemon was somehow being controlled by ex-CNN chief executive Jeff Zucker.
“His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying,” Musk posted on X after news of Lemon’s cancellation broke.“Instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity. All this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else.”
Lemon responded by saying that Musk’s stated desire for free speech is “maybe talking points for him.”
CNN then aired a few contentious excerpts from their discussion, beginning with Lemon asking Musk about the rise of hate speech on his site.
“Hate speech on the platform is up. Do you believe that X and you have some responsibility to moderate hate speech on the platform? That you wouldn’t have to answer these questions from reporters about the great replacement theory as it relates to—?” Lemon asked before Musk replied.
“I don’t have to answer these questions,” Musk said.“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.”
Lemon followed up: “Do you think that you wouldn’t get in trouble or you wouldn’t be criticized for these things?”
Musk replied that he’s “criticized constantly” and that he “couldn’t care less.”
Lemon later mentioned to Burnett the January trip Musk took to Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp, which he took amid furious backlash after he seemingly agreed with an antisemitic post claiming that Jewish communities have been pushing to replace white Americans with immigrants of color, a conspiracy theory commonly known as the “great replacement theory.” As a result of Musk’s post, several high-profile advertisers stopped spending on X—something Musk claimed was “blackmail.”
During his appearance on CNN Wednesday, Lemon said that Musk showed a blind spot when it comes to how the problematic ideas he pushes affects others.
“He doesn’t understand that that sort of rhetoric that he talks about—the great replacement theory and a migrant invasion—that’s what radicalized shooters used in their manifestos. Those exact words,” Lemon said.
Mass shooters in New Zealand, California, Texas and New York have left manifestos citing the great replacement theory as inspiration.
“It doesn’t seem that he feels that he has any responsibility with [his online presence] because he seemed really averse to facts,” Lemon continued. “That facts did not matter to him. It didn’t matter that he retweeted things that were offensive to people.”
Later on, Lemon said he thinks Musk is “getting information from right-wing bloggers or extremists.”
“When you go and look at the things that he points to, it is often—quite often—from extremist groups and extremist groups who are putting out information that is just false.”
