“The Don Lemon Show” will premiere on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
Many fans of former CNN anchor Don Lemon rejoiced with the news that the famed journalist will take his talents to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
His fans have called the news vindication after many thought CNN unfairly ousted him from his nighttime position.
On X, Lemon said, “I’ve heard you…and today I am back bigger, bolder, freer! My new media company’s first project is The Don Lemon Show. It will be available to everyone, easily, whenever you want it, streaming on the platforms where the conversations are happening.”
X, owned by billionaire businessperson Elon Musk, has become the media home for cable media stars who have found themselves without a cable news home after controversy.
Right-wing talking head Tucker Carlson lost his job at Fox News after the company lost close to $1 billion in a defamation suit, which stemmed from the big lie that President Joe Biden stole the 2020 election from former President Donald Trump.
Musk champions himself as a free speech absolutist and X as a marketplace that totally embraces free speech without exceptions.
Many on the political right scoffed at Twitter’s decision to ban Trump from the platform when his words led to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, which almost resulted in the loss of American democracy.
After Musk’s purchase of Twitter, the platform has lost many members because they say that X promotes hate speech and bigotry.
Musk himself has received criticism from many in the African-American community for his opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Many in the African-American community scoffed at him for apparently co-signing an X post about DEI efforts for airline pilots, which stated that students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities had lower I.Q.s because of low mean SAT scores.
Therefore, some in the African-American community have criticized Lemon for teaming up with X for “The Don Lemon Show,” with some saying that all money is not good money.
But Lemon calls X “the biggest space for free speech in the world” and he said that the show will be available on X first.
“Don’s new company will take a no-holds barred approach to storytelling to the next level in this raw and authentic program,” said Oren Rosenbaum, head of audio and a partner at UTA, the agency that represents Lemon. “Leveraging technology like AI and many decades of experience, Don will break news and provoke thoughtful conversation through his direct and unfiltered take on today’s most important stories.”
Eric Bazail-Eimil of Politico reported, “Lemon was axed from CNN in April 2023 after a series of panned on-air remarks and a report from Variety that recounted an alleged pattern of misogynistic behavior toward colleagues at the network dating back at least 15 years. A spokesperson for Lemon at the time blasted the report in a statement to Yahoo News as ‘patently false’ and ‘based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip.’”
Carlson congratulated Lemon X saying, “Congratulations. It’s a new world. Welcome.”
Bazail-Eimil of Politico reported, “(The Carlson/X) venture has proved successful for Carlson, who has interviewed high profile guests on his social media show, including former President Donald Trump and X owner Elon Musk. Musk has claimed in posts on social media that Carlson’s show’s viewership exceeds the population of the United States. Carlson has also launched his own streaming service, the ‘Tucker Carlson Network.’”
After Carlson and Lemon’s terminations from cable news, many believed the two should collaborate on a show since they often have very differing opinions on issues like politics, race, sexuality and gender.
At a polarizing time in America’s history, many like RegalMag.com publisher Todd A. Smith said that a joint show hosted by the duo would bring in record ratings and expose their fanbases to opposing views, something that is missing from cable news and debate television shows.
Maybe their joint ventures with X will provide that opportunity to collaborate.
In an op-Ed for RegalMag.com, Smith wrote, “The firing of Tucker Carlson at Fox News and Don Lemon at CNN might do more for this country than one can imagine if they see the business opportunity that might fall into their laps if a television network is smart and willing to pay the big bucks.
“Sure, the defamation lawsuit that Fox News had to settle with Dominion Voting will do a lot for journalism because if media personalities and companies realize they can lose $1 billion for knowingly spreading falsehoods, then maybe they will get back to old school journalism where the truth mattered.
“However, modern cable news has not only detrimentally impacted the field of journalism, but it has also adversely affected American democracy because of lies.
“One of the biggest problems confronting American is the media, mainly cable news.
“More specifically, the fact that this country has ‘liberal media’ entities, and ‘conservative media’ entities leads to much of the division in the world (i.e., political, racial and religious division) because many people do not want to know what is truly going on in the world or the views of others.
“Unfortunately, many just want to believe that they are right about everything and the people on the other side of the argument are at best wrong, or at worst idiots.”
Smith believed that combining the viewpoints of Carlson and Lemon would force people to at least hear the other side of the argument, which might bring some unity to the country.
X also has plans for shows hosted by former politician Tulsi Gabbard and sports commentator Jim Rome.
