Don Lemon has released his hour-long interview with Elon Musk, after the former CNN journalist claimed that it upset the X (formerly Twitter) owner so much that Musk canceled the launch of a new interview show named “The Don Lemon Show” that the pair had been planning together.
During one section of the interview, Lemon asked about Musk taking a puff of weed on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” and then inquired about the tech mogul’s ketamine prescription.
“It’s pretty private to ask somebody about a medical prescription,” Musk said. “There are times when I have a negative chemical state in my brain, like depression, I guess. Depression that’s not linked to any negative news, and ketamine is helpful for getting one out of a negative frame of mind. I’m not a doctor, but if someone has depression issues, I suggest they talk to their doctor about ketamine versus SSRIs.”
Lemon then asked if Musk ever abused ketamine, which Musk denied, saying he took a small amount about every other week.
Things got especially contentious during the last stretch of the interview, when Lemon asked Musk about advertisers pulling out of X as a result of not wanting their content to be near what they perceived to be unmoderated hate speech.
Lemon questioned Musk about said companies, asking, “Why is that not a form of free speech? They are free to advertise where they want.”
“Whereas the other platforms will censor on behalf of other advertisers, the X platform will not,” Musk said.
After a back and forth, Lemon pushed further about advertisers, saying, “So you said, ‘If they kill the company, it’s them’ —but doesn’t the buck stop with you?”
“Choose your questions carefully — there’s five minutes left,” Musk retorted.
Lemon also asked Musk about meeting with Donald Trump recently in Florida.
“I was at a breakfast at a friend’s place and Donald Trump came by — that’s it,” Musk said, downplaying the conversations, adding, “Let’s just say he did most of the talking. The normal things he says. There was nothing particularly groundbreaking or new. President Trump likes to talk.
Musk said Trump also did not ask him for any money or campaign finances.
In a statement posted to X on Wednesday, Lemon said the interview put a stop to the duo’s professional collaboration, writing, “Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X, which they announced as part of their public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices on their platform. He informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday. That interview will remain the premiere episode of ‘The Don Lemon Show’ on Monday, March 18.”
Watch the full interview below.
