He’s back!
On Tuesday, ousted CNN host Don Lemon announced that he would be attempting to break out of his newfound obscurity and irrelevance with a new show on X (formerly Twitter). The X Business account also said that in addition to Lemon, former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), and veteran sports commentator Jim Rome would also be getting shows. But Lemon’s willingness to jump at a new gig on X had a strong dose of hypocrisy since he’s previously been very critical of the platform and owner Elon Musk.
“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 and wherever you want it, streaming on the platforms where the conversations are happening,” he boasted in a post.
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) January 9, 2024
Adding that “you'll find it first on X,” Lemon praised the social media platform as “the biggest space for free speech in the world.” “I know now more than ever that we need a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors,” he seemed to take a shot at CNN.
X Business added more detail about how and when The Don Lemon Show would air, saying Lemon would “share his unique and honest voice in 30 minute episodes, three times a week, covering politics, culture, sports and entertainment.”
We’re delighted to announce a new content partnership with @DonLemon for his new project, The Don Lemon Show. The award winning TV journalist will share his unique and honest voice in 30 minute episodes, three times a week, covering politics, culture, sports and entertainment.…
— Business (@XBusiness) January 9, 2024
But Lemon’s excitement for his new show on X was steeped in hypocrisy seeing as, during his time at CNN, he had flaunted an obvious disdain for the platform and its new owner.
In December of 2022, Lemon had a bit of a meltdown when then-Twitter banned a handful of far-left journalists after they doxxed Musk’s location by sharing the location and traveling information of his private jet. Lemon described the punitive actions the platform undertook as “madness” and “crazy.”
Lemon also didn’t seem to think the platform was a bastion of free speech at the time, asking: “Is it a free speech issue or is Elon Musk just on a power trip right now?”
And when it came to releasing the infamous Twitter Files (the evidence of Twitter’s previous ownership targeting conservative speech with censorship, with aid/direction from the federal government), Lemon didn’t approve of that either; particularly those calling out the systemic censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
“I just feel like -- especially this whole Hunter Biden thing is like a Rorschach test for political -- like what side, what you believe politically. So, for me it doesn't interest me in that way,” he huffed.
Lemon more directly slammed Musk after he called out the liberal media for pushing the “hands up, down shoot” lie about the Michael Brown shooting. He asserted that Musk “repeated a right-wing talking point suggesting that the protests following Brown's death were overblown."
