In the second episode of The Don Lemon Show, former CNN host Don Lemon ripped into billionaire Elon Musk for his recent interview.
Lemon said that Musk should have chosen to speak with Megyn Kelly or Tucker Carlson if he sought praise rather than engaging in a "real conversation" with an independent journalist like himself.
Lemon said, "The interview was precisely what Elon has long claimed that he wants to make a home for on X: a free exchange of ideas."
"We dug into serious issues, the nuances of the electoral college, the future of automotives, the complexities of DEI, even our own personal battles with depression," he told his viewers. "Did he really expect for me to simply lavish him with praise for an hour? If so, he could’ve sat down with Megyn Kelly or Tucker Carlson. But no, he opted to sit down with me, an independent journalist, to have a real conversation. I’m glad he did it, and if he chooses to watch the whole interview, he’ll come to appreciate just how valuable our discussion was."
During the same episode of The Don Lemon Show, tech journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher told the host why she thought Musk was unhappy with the viral sit-down this month.
“I thought it was an excellent interview. I thought it was very fair,” Swisher told the axed CNN host. “I think two things happened. One, he is so surrounded by people who kiss his ass all the time, or lick him up and down all day, that he’s not used to any pushback whatsoever anymore. He used to be, by the way.”
She continued, “Two, he’s easily bored. I know it sounds crazy, I don’t think you were boring, I don’t think your questions were boring, but he was bored, and so he got irritated.”
As OK! previously reported, Lemon claimed that his discussion with Musk wasn't meant to be a "gotcha interview."
"It was just a straightforward interview, and I thought that he would appreciate it," he explained.
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The day after the interview, Musk texted Lemon’s agent, UTA’s Jay Sures, telling him that their contract with the axed CNN host was "terminated."
Lemon broke the news of the implosion of his deal with X last week, leading many online to raise questions about Musk’s ability to handle scrutiny.
The episode was eventually aired and has garnered over 812,000 views on YouTube.