Don Lemon is the latest media pundit to ditch X following the 2024 election. Instagram post on Wednesday, the former CNN anchor said he’s leaving Elon Musk’s platform because of a change to its terms of service and because X is not a place for “honest debate.”
“I have loved connecting with all of you on Twitter and then on X for all of these years, but it’s time for me to leave the platform,” Lemon said in his video. “I once believed it was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency, and free speech, but I now feel it does not serve that purpose.”
But the bigger problem for Lemon, though, is X’s terms of service. X recently changed its rules, requiring users to file lawsuits against the company in Texas — either in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas or in state courts in Tarrant County. The changes go into effect on November 15.
Lemon, while quoting from a recent Washington Post report on the matter, said this is bad news because the state courts are too conservative-friendly.
“This quote ‘ensures that such lawsuits will be heard in courthouses that are a hub for conservatives, which experts say could make it easier for X to shield itself from litigation and punish critics.’ I think that speaks for itself,” Lemon said.
Lemon’s relationship with X was already on the rocks heading into Wednesday. He sued Musk in August, claiming the X owner refused to pay him $1.5 million after a content deal between the two blew up following a contentious interview. Musk, in response, said Lemon “made a series of impressively insane demands” and that there was never a deal in place; he’s requested that the lawsuit be dismissed.
The ex-CNN host joins a number of other media members who have exited X in the past week, including MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace, after Musk’s preferred candidate, Donald Trump, won the election. Earlier on Wednesday morning, The Guardian said it was leaving the platform, saying Musk has made it a “toxic media platform” since he bought it in 2022.
