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Don Lemon announces new show on X amid platform’s LGBTQ+ safety concerns

Mike Coppola/Getty Images; Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

The former CNN star will debut The Don Lemon Show on X, navigating a platform increasingly criticized for harmful rhetoric and declining safety for LGBTQ+ users.

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Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is launching his media comeback on Elon Musk’s media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The gay journalist announced his return to television with The Don Lemon Show on Tuesday after his unexpected termination from CNN last April. His show is set to air 30-minute episodes three times a week, offering his voice to a digital audience.

Lemon revealed his new venture on X.

“I’ve heard you … and today I am back bigger, bolder, freer,” Lemon wrote. Lemon emphasized the accessibility of his show, noting, “It will be available to everyone, easily, whenever and wherever you want it, streaming on the platforms where the conversations are happening.”

An individual familiar with the arrangement clarified important details regarding Lemon’s new show to The Advocate, emphasizing that it is not an “X show.” According to the person, contrary to some interpretations, X is not producing Lemon’s show, nor does the social media company have editorial control over it. Instead, the person said that X is one of several distribution partners.

“They just get to stream it first,” the person said. “That’s it.”

According to this source, the arrangement stipulates that each episode will initially air on X and subsequently be distributed across various streaming platforms. This distribution strategy includes prominent platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Facebook and later extends to services like Roku, according to the source, who said that additionally, there will be options for subscriptions to the show.

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Lemon’s choice of X as an avenue to distribute his show comes amid significant concerns about the nature of discourse on X under Elon Musk’s leadership. In his announcement, Lemon referred to X as “the biggest space for free speech in the world.”

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Since Musk has scrubbed most of the company’s content moderation policies, the platform has become rife with danger for users, with posts expressing transphobia, white supremacy, racism, disinformation, and other harmful rhetoric, according to watchdog groups. These issues present a challenging backdrop for Lemon’s stated goal to create a space for “honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors.”

Lemon was let go from CNN after a number of allegedly misogynistic incidents at the network, including derogatory remarks he made about women past their 40s being “past their prime” on the air after GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley announced her candidacy.

In June, GLAAD highlighted the severity of the concerns about X, declaring it the worst major social media platform for LGBTQ+ safety. The decline in the platform’s safety score, as reported in GLAAD’s annual Social Media Safety Index, has been attributed to reduced content moderation and significant policy changes — particularly those that put transgender and nonbinary people in danger — since Musk’s acquisition.

In response to The Advocate’s request for a reaction to Lemon’s announcement, a spokesperson for GLAAD praised his work in a statement.

“Don Lemon’s accurate and inclusive reporting on LGBTQ and other marginalized communities has raised the bar for cable news journalism,” the spokesperson said. “His reporting at the intersection of queer people and politics has helped more Americans understand our community.”

However, the spokesperson also voiced deep concerns about the current state of Musk’s X platform.

“Yet anyone who uses Twitter/X should know that it has unfortunately devolved into a platform rife with hate, disinformation, and unchecked targeting of marginalized people,” the spokesperson continued. They noted the adverse impact of recent changes, adding, “It has lost more than half of its advertiser revenue and rolled back LGBTQ user protections since Elon Musk took over.”

The spokesperson concluded, “Twitter/X could choose to restore protections for users, ensuring that inaccurate and harmful hate speech will not continue to drag down opportunities for civil, enlightening, and entertaining conversation.”

Tucker Carlson, who joined X after being fired from his prime-time position at Fox News last spring, welcomed his longtime rival to the platform. Carlson was let go after the network settled a lawsuit for $787 million.

“Congratulations. It’s a new world. Welcome,” the disgraced far-right entertainer wrote.

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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from GLAAD and to include details from a source with knowledge of the arrangement.

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