Disgraced media figure Don Lemon reportedly viewed billionaire Elon Musk, and his social media platform X, as a goose that would lay him a golden egg after CNN ousted him. According to reports, Lemon had made exorbitant and ridiculous demands in his negotiations to air his show on X. And when the deal fell apart after Musk pulled the plug, the billionaire compared Lemon to spoiled brat Veruca Salt from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
According to reporting from Ariel Zilber of the New York Post, Lemon’s “astronomical wish list to Elon Musk” included “a free Tesla Cybertruck, a $5 million upfront payment on top of an $8 million salary, an equity stake in the multibillion-dollar company,” and the ridiculous demand to have “the right to approve any changes in X policy as it relates to news content.”
Those demands sounded like a far cry from Lemon’s claims to CNN last week that his agreement with X was just a “distribution” deal.
The Post also reported that Lemon wanted X to pamper him and his fiancé:
Lemon — who was expected to air an interview with Musk for next week’s debut episode on X — had also demanded a private jet flight to Las Vegas, a suite for him and his fiance, and that the company pay for their day drinking and massages, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
Musk agreed to do the interview with Lemon despite the fact that he was aware of some of Lemon’s outlandish demands, sources told The Post.
The vice chairman of the “talent” agency Lemon utilized, United Talent Agency, denied the allegations. “This is absolute, complete utter nonsense without an iota of truth to it,” Jay Sures told The Post.
It’s worth noting that The Post viewed documents that backed up their reporting.
In a post on X roughly an hour after the newspaper published their article about Lemon’s demands, Musk took a swipe at Lemon by comparing him to the spoiled girl from Willy Wonka who demanded a golden-egg-laying goose and an Oompa Loompa.
Don “Veruca Salt” 🍋
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 16, 2024
Given what’s been leaked about Lemon’s demands, perhaps the negotiation meetings sounded something like this:
I want a ball
I want a party
Pink macaroons
And a million balloons
And performing baboons and
Give it to me now!
I want the world
I want the whole world
I want to lock it
All up in my pocket
It's my bar of chocolate
Give it to me now!
