Nearly a year after his abrupt exit from CNN, former primetime anchor Don Lemon debuted his online show, The Don Lemon Show, on various platforms on Monday morning. That debut included putting the show on X (formerly Twitter), where Elon Musk recently terminated a partnership with Lemon after not liking the host’s questions while appearing as a guest on the premiere.
The series debut, which was made available at 7 a.m. ET, did not appear on X until around one hour later. Lemon posted on his personal account indicating there was a problem loading the show on the social media platform, saying, “No response from the folks at X as to why the episode isn’t loading, but we keep trying.”
No response from the folks at X as to why the episode isn’t loading, but we keep trying. Meanwhile, it’s up and running everywhere else – take a look. #TheDonLemonShow
Advertisement— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 18, 2024
A source familiar with the situation told TVNewser it’s unclear why the episode wouldn’t upload to the platform, and numerous previous tests went fine.
The show eventually got posted on X and came with timestamps of the various topics Lemon and Musk discussed. At the start of his show, Lemon addressed the controversy surrounding his show’s termination of partnership with X, saying, “Contrary to what you might have heard, we weren’t canceled by X.”
Lemon went on to say that Musk spent months begging, “wooing” him to offer exclusive content on his platform, but Musk has now decided to scrap the deal.
Lemon added, “But our plan is and always has been to release this show everywhere,” naming the various platforms where the show is available, including YouTube, Spotify and iHeart Radio.
“Just about any place you stream content,” Lemon said.
He went on to say that all his interviews, including the one with Musk, would be free of restrictions, ground rules or anything off-limits or out of bounds. He also challenged Musk to watch the entire interview.
The Don Lemon Show episode 1: Elon Musk
TIMESTAMPS:
(02:23) News on X
(10:07) Donald Trump and Endorsing a Candidate
(13:04) The New Tesla Roadster
(16:46) Relaxation and Video Games
(17:54) Tweeting and Drug Use
(23:19) The Great Replacement Theory
(30:03) Content Moderation… pic.twitter.com/bLRae4DhyO— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 18, 2024
When Lemon announced his partnership with X back in January, his show was to be a triweekly, 30-minute program streaming on the social media platform. Moving forward, viewers can expect two to three shows per week, and the total time will vary between 30 and 45 minutes.
“I know now more than ever that we need a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors. This is just the beginning, so stay tuned,” he said at the time.
Representatives for Twitter did not immediately respond regarding the show’s delay in premiering on X.
This story has been updated with more details on the show’s delay as well as its format.