Lemon's attorney, Carney Shegerian, stated that executives used Lemon to boost their advertising sales pitch, only to cancel the partnership and tarnish Lemon's name.

The lawsuit, filed in California superior court, claims that X, formerly known as Twitter, sought a partnership with Lemon during a challenging period for the platform. Facing dwindling advertising revenue amidst a surge of misinformation and controversial posts from Musk, X executives allegedly sought to affiliate with renowned personalities to retain advertisers, with Lemon being a prime candidate due to his reputation as a gay Black journalist.

Initially announced with great fanfare in early January, the "content partnership" between Lemon and X included a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. Lemon's complaint reveals that Musk also promised additional rewards such as cash incentives and a share of advertising revenue generated by his exclusive videos on X. However, trouble began after Lemon conducted a confrontational hour-long interview with Musk in March, where he addressed various controversial topics including Musk's drug use, political influence, and stance on content moderation.

Shortly after the interview was recorded at Tesla's Austin headquarters, Musk sent a brief text message to Lemon's agent, canceling the deal. Lemon's complaint states that by that time, he had already invested "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in building his own media company, hiring staff, and setting up a studio to produce content for X. Despite Musk assuring Lemon that no formal written agreement or paperwork was necessary, Lemon later discovered that he would not be compensated as there was no signed agreement.

Lemon's lawsuit alleges that Musk and other X executives concealed their true intentions from the start, knowing that if they had been transparent about using Lemon's name, reputation, and identity to revive X's reputation and attract advertisers, Lemon would never have agreed to the partnership. The lawsuit seeks to hold X's executives accountable for their actions and defend Lemon's good name in the process.

As of now, neither Musk nor X have responded to requests for comment from The Washington Post.

It remains to be seen how this legal battle will unfold and what impact it may have on Musk's social media platform, X, as well as Lemon's career moving forward.