Sirius XM’s Megyn Kelly blasted former CNN host Don Lemon Thursday over his behavior while interviewing Elon Musk for his new show.
Kelly said Lemon “fucked up right before he even launched” his new show from an axed deal with Elon Musk, telling the fired CNN anchor he’s “not the victim.”
“Don Lemon got fired again. Already. He’s fired before he really got hired. Very hard for Don Lemon to keep a job. And we know why,” Kelly said.
Lemon announced he would host “The Don Lemon Show” on X in January after he was fired from CNN in April 2023. Musk chose to cancel his partnership with Lemon’s show Wednesday after the former CNN anchor conducted an interview with the tech mogul that “changed” their “relationship.”
“And Elon Musk is a risk-taker, so I — I guess he thought this would be a fun risk. Just as risky, I guess, as putting spaceships into outer space. Because it really was just that risky, Elon. He probably just thought, ‘Oh, he’s like a left-wing commentator.’ I doubt Elon spent his time watching CNN Primetime because literally only two people did,” Kelly stated. “And — so he decided to give him a deal at the same time — speaking of Tulsi Gabbard, he gave her a show on X and, I think, a couple of others. He’s trying to make X a platform where, like, you know, you have voices like Tucker on the right and you have voices like Lemon on the left, and it’s a forum for everybody.”
Kelly said that “the lesson” of Lemon’s interview with Musk was, “Don’t interview your boss,” citing former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly who weighed in on the situation.
“And I will say, Don Lemon behaved like an asshole who was not grateful to Elon Musk for resurrecting his career. And — O’Reilly’s right. It’s very hard for Don Lemon in this position to both be a good journalist and be a good employee. The man’s paying your salary, so you do owe him a level of respect and discretion,” Kelly continued. “And at the same time you want to prove to us in your first interview back how hard-hitting you are, and those two goals are not aligned. So I don’t blame Elon for being mad at the way he was treated, which now Don is admitting it didn’t end well, and Elon was pissed off when it ended.”
Kelly mentioned that Lemon, through Allison Gollust, threatened to sue Musk over their fallout. Gollust was previously the chief marketing officer at CNN while having an affair with Zucker, who was the president of the company at the time. Kelly said Lemon complained that Musk is “not for free speech,” but the conservative commentator pointed out that Lemon can still post on Musk’s platform without getting paid. (RELATED: ‘Dark Horse’: Megyn Kelly Says Katie Britt May Be On Trump’s VP Shortlist)
“Its unbelievable, though,” Kelly said. “So first of all, he didn’t lose any freedom of speech whatsoever. Absolutely not. He will be seen by the same four viewers now as he would have before Elon said to you, ‘I’m not giving you millions.’”
“By the way, reportedly he just got like a $25 million payoff from CNN for that firing. Uh, they paid out his deal rather than have a litigation with him. Then Elon reportedly cut him a multimillion deal, which he fucked up right before he even launched the show. And now he’s claiming that his free speech — you’re not the victim! You’re not the victim,” she added. “You’re not a victim in any way. And yet, he continues to escape consequences.”