Musk Tells Lemon 'You Are Upsetting Me' In Awkward Video

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        Elon Musk Tells Don Lemon 'You Are Upsetting Me' In Uncomfortable Interview Clip
    

        @DonLemon / X
    
The X CEO was visibly annoyed by the former CNN anchor's questions about free speech and advertising on X in a clip from the full interview that allegedly led to Musk pulling the plug on Lemon's show.
By Peter KarlebyMar 20, 2024
Peter Karleby
Peter Karleby is a writer, content producer and performer originally from Michigan. His writing has also appeared on YourTango, Delish and Medium, and he has produced content for NBC, The New York Times and The CW, among others. When not working, he can be found tripping over his own feet on a hiking trail while singing Madonna songs to ward off lurking bears.
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Guess Elon Musk doesn't love free speech after all.
Musk is so dedicated to the concept of free speech that he bought Twitter in 2022 to supposedly rid it of censorship and has since turned it into a veritable cesspool of unchecked hate speech. 
But when former CNN anchor Don Lemon questioned him about the concept, Musk became downright furious—and canceled Lemon's new show on the app.
Lemon's now-former program The Don Lemon Show was part of Musk's bid to transform X, formerly Twitter, into a platform that would compete with cable news. Lemon spent a recent episode discussing the ramifications of Musk's free speech absolutism.
This is the moment when Elon Musk likely decided to part ways with Don Lemon, giving an anti-speech threat: "So you said if they kill the company it's them, but doesn't the buck stop with you?"\n\n"I have to say, choose your questions carefully."\n\n"I am not trying to get... I am\u2026
 —  (@)
        
Lemon pushed back several times on Musk's allowing virulent hate speech to go unchecked on X, questioning Musk about specific posts containing racist and anti-Semitic statements that have been allowed to remain on the app.
This has resulted in scores of big-name advertisers fleeing the app so that their ads do not appear sandwiched between, say, Musk's own tweets, in which he amplified racist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and made it fairly explicit that he is at least ideologically aligned with white nationalists.
Musk has been vocal about how much this angers him, telling advertisers "f*ck you" for leaving the app. 
But Lemon questioned why a free speech absolutist would react to free speech in such a way.
"Why is that not a form of free speech? They are free to advertise where they want.”Musk retorted:
“Whereas the other platforms will censor on behalf of other advertisers, the X platform will not.”That is, of course, not what Lemon asked, so he continued the same line of questioning. Musk then became visibly agitated and issued a warning to Lemon to "choose your questions carefully," which he seemed to intend to be menacing. 
Obviously rattled, Musk continued, saying:
“I acquired X in order to preserve freedom of speech in America, the first amendment. And I want to stick to that, and if that means making less money, so be it."Asked if Lemon's question had upset him, Musk said:
“You are upsetting me because the way you’re phrasing the questions I think is not cogent.”Okay then. Mr Free Speech then effectively canceled Lemon's show in response because he doesn't like how much it reminds him of CNN, whatever that means. 
@MarkZuckss @XBusiness His approach was basically just \u201cCNN, but on social media\u201d, which doesn\u2019t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.\n\nAnd, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity.\n\nAll this said, Lemon/Zucker are\u2026
 —  (@)
        
Whatever impact Musk hoped to have by sparring with Lemon, it does not seem to have landed with anyone on X besides Musk's legion of sycophants.
Elon Musk is an utter moron and every person who has ever interviewed him should be embarrassed that it took Don Lemon to make him sweat. The man can never accept accountability for his actions; there always has to be someone else to take the blame.
 —  (@)
        
@halalflow He\u2019s asking basic questions, how is he getting stumped
 —  (@)
        
@halalflow I\u2019m confused.  Didn\u2019t Elon cancel Don Lemon after this?  Right after saying it\u2019s a platform for free speech and that the test of free speech is in the face of speech you don\u2019t like?
 —  (@)
        
@halalflow Error 404_\nElonScript.exe has stopped working__
 —  (@)
        
Holy sh*t. Don Lemon humiliated & exposed Elon Musk like I\u2019ve never seen before. Simple, straightforward questioning & Elon Musk just completely crumbled. Take a couple minutes & watch this. Don Lemon delivers a masterclass. Elon is pathetic.
 —  (@)
        
They keep pointing to clips of Don Lemon absolutely cooking Elon and pretending like the opposite is happening
 —  (@)
        

The funniest part of the Don Lemon / Elon Musk interview is that Lemon doesn\u2019t even go all that hard, which frankly just shames almost every other interviewer who has sat with the man.
 —  (@)
        

Don Lemon's interview with Elon Musk is the clearest proof that modern right wing ideology can't stand up to even the tiniest amount of scrutiny. \n\nElon was completely flustered by extremely basic questions. He appeared to be on the verge of tears at the end. It's wild to see\u2026
 —  (@)
        

I have yet to see a clip where Don Lemon comes off unreasonable and Elon comes off as not a petulant baby
 —  (@)
        

Don Lemon, the world\u2019s lightest weight reporter, cooked Elon so hard in that interview that Elon is now making fun of him for the deal that Elon agreed to and broke
 —  (@)
        
Anyway, Musk has made clear that Lemon's show is still welcome on X (and remains on the app), it just won't be promoted by him or the company as part of Lemon's very lucrative deal.
The Don Lemon Show episode 1: Elon Musk\n\nTIMESTAMPS:\n(02:23) News on X\n(10:07) Donald Trump and Endorsing a Candidate\n(13:04) The New Tesla Roadster\n(16:46) Relaxation and Video Games\n(17:54) Tweeting and Drug Use\n(23:19) The Great Replacement Theory\n(30:03) Content Moderation\u2026
 —  (@)
        
Doesn't seem like he'll need the promotion help. Musk's tantrum has taken care of that for him.
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Guess Elon Musk doesn't love free speech after all.

Musk is so dedicated to the concept of free speech that he bought Twitter in 2022 to supposedly rid it of censorship and has since turned it into a veritable cesspool of unchecked hate speech.

But when former CNN anchor Don Lemon questioned him about the concept, Musk became downright furious—and canceled Lemon's new show on the app.

Lemon's now-former program The Don Lemon Show was part of Musk's bid to transform X, formerly Twitter, into a platform that would compete with cable news. Lemon spent a recent episode discussing the ramifications of Musk's free speech absolutism.

This is the moment when Elon Musk likely decided to part ways with Don Lemon, giving an anti-speech threat: "So you said if they kill the company it's them, but doesn't the buck stop with you?"\n\n"I have to say, choose your questions carefully."\n\n"I am not trying to get... I am\u2026
— (@)

Lemon pushed back several times on Musk's allowing virulent hate speech to go unchecked on X, questioning Musk about specific posts containing racist and anti-Semitic statements that have been allowed to remain on the app.

This has resulted in scores of big-name advertisers fleeing the app so that their ads do not appear sandwiched between, say, Musk's own tweets, in which he amplified racist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and made it fairly explicit that he is at least ideologically aligned with white nationalists.

Musk has been vocal about how much this angers him, telling advertisers "f*ck you" for leaving the app.

But Lemon questioned why a free speech absolutist would react to free speech in such a way.

"Why is that not a form of free speech? They are free to advertise where they want.”

Musk retorted:

“Whereas the other platforms will censor on behalf of other advertisers, the X platform will not.”

That is, of course, not what Lemon asked, so he continued the same line of questioning. Musk then became visibly agitated and issued a warning to Lemon to "choose your questions carefully," which he seemed to intend to be menacing.

Obviously rattled, Musk continued, saying:

“I acquired X in order to preserve freedom of speech in America, the first amendment. And I want to stick to that, and if that means making less money, so be it."

Asked if Lemon's question had upset him, Musk said:

“You are upsetting me because the way you’re phrasing the questions I think is not cogent.”

Okay then. Mr Free Speech then effectively canceled Lemon's show in response because he doesn't like how much it reminds him of CNN, whatever that means.

@MarkZuckss @XBusiness His approach was basically just \u201cCNN, but on social media\u201d, which doesn\u2019t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.\n\nAnd, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity.\n\nAll this said, Lemon/Zucker are\u2026
— (@)

Whatever impact Musk hoped to have by sparring with Lemon, it does not seem to have landed with anyone on X besides Musk's legion of sycophants.

Elon Musk is an utter moron and every person who has ever interviewed him should be embarrassed that it took Don Lemon to make him sweat. The man can never accept accountability for his actions; there always has to be someone else to take the blame.
— (@)

@halalflow He\u2019s asking basic questions, how is he getting stumped
— (@)

@halalflow I\u2019m confused. Didn\u2019t Elon cancel Don Lemon after this? Right after saying it\u2019s a platform for free speech and that the test of free speech is in the face of speech you don\u2019t like?
— (@)

@halalflow Error 404_\nElonScript.exe has stopped working__
— (@)

Holy sh*t. Don Lemon humiliated & exposed Elon Musk like I\u2019ve never seen before. Simple, straightforward questioning & Elon Musk just completely crumbled. Take a couple minutes & watch this. Don Lemon delivers a masterclass. Elon is pathetic.
— (@)

They keep pointing to clips of Don Lemon absolutely cooking Elon and pretending like the opposite is happening
— (@)

The funniest part of the Don Lemon / Elon Musk interview is that Lemon doesn\u2019t even go all that hard, which frankly just shames almost every other interviewer who has sat with the man.
— (@)

Don Lemon's interview with Elon Musk is the clearest proof that modern right wing ideology can't stand up to even the tiniest amount of scrutiny. \n\nElon was completely flustered by extremely basic questions. He appeared to be on the verge of tears at the end. It's wild to see\u2026
— (@)

I have yet to see a clip where Don Lemon comes off unreasonable and Elon comes off as not a petulant baby
— (@)

Don Lemon, the world\u2019s lightest weight reporter, cooked Elon so hard in that interview that Elon is now making fun of him for the deal that Elon agreed to and broke
— (@)

Anyway, Musk has made clear that Lemon's show is still welcome on X (and remains on the app), it just won't be promoted by him or the company as part of Lemon's very lucrative deal.

The Don Lemon Show episode 1: Elon Musk\n\nTIMESTAMPS:\n(02:23) News on X\n(10:07) Donald Trump and Endorsing a Candidate\n(13:04) The New Tesla Roadster\n(16:46) Relaxation and Video Games\n(17:54) Tweeting and Drug Use\n(23:19) The Great Replacement Theory\n(30:03) Content Moderation\u2026
— (@)

Doesn't seem like he'll need the promotion help. Musk's tantrum has taken care of that for him.

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Elon Musk Tells Don Lemon 'You Are Upsetting Me' In Uncomfortable Interview Clip

The X CEO was visibly annoyed by the former CNN anchor's questions about free speech and advertising on X in a clip from the full interview that allegedly led to Musk pulling the plug on Lemon's show.

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