Former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who was fired by the network in April 2023 “after several on-air controversies and reports of alleged decades-long instances of sexism and misogyny” has announced that his new project, The Don Lemon Show, will stream on X, the media platform owned by MAGA-man billionaire Elon Musk.
Lemon announced “today I am back bigger, bolder and freer!” and describes X as “the biggest space for free speech in the world” and “a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors.”
On the same day @elonMusk suspended half a dozen journalists including Ken Klippenstein without explanation?
— Keith Olbermann⌚️ (@KeithOlbermann) January 9, 2024
Fuck you, Don. You're working for the enemies of free speech https://t.co/9wdeK4nrxD
Fellow former TV journalist (MSNBC, ESPN) and political commentator Keith Olbermann (‘Countdown with Keith Olbermann’ on iHeart Radio) pointed out that on the same day Lemon made his announcement, according to Olbermann, “Elon Musk suspended half a dozen journalist including Ken Klippenstein without explanation.” Olbermann dropped an f-bomb on Lemon and added, “You’re working for the enemies of free speech.”
In addition to Klippenstein, who writes for The Intercept, journalists Steven Monacelli of Texas Observer, Alan MacLeod of MintPress News, and podcaster Rob Rousseau, also reportedly had their X accounts suspended without explanation.
Dear @elonmusk @Support, we'd like to know why our reporter, Steven Monacelli @stevanzetti was suspended from this platform.
— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) January 9, 2024
Once Monacelli’s account was “unsuspended,” he wrote on X: “Show me the Twitter Files on this one because I highly doubt that it’s a coincidence a number of high profile journalists were suspended all at once.” Monacelli also reported that he gained nearly 2,000 new followers after the suspension.
