Elon Musk is trying his hand as a TV network executive, and he’s slated three shows with controversial hosts to lead X’s new venture into streaming. Former CNN anchor, Don Lemon, is partnering with X to create a new show covering politics, culture, sports, and entertainment that will exclusively stream on Musk’s platform, the company posted Tuesday. Lemon is joined by former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and sports commentator Jim Rome, who will also host shows on X.
The common thread is that these figures have all sparked some sort of controversy in their respective fields, and the partnerships are in line with Musk’s vision of X as a “free speech” platform. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson was the first to host a show on X shortly after his release from the news network, but went on to launch his own streaming service, the Tucker Carlson Network. Musk’s platform reportedly couldn’t develop the necessary technology for a streaming service fast enough. Now, Musk has figured it out, and he found three other hosts who are known for speaking their minds to lead X’s streaming push.
Don Lemon was fired from CNN after a series of contentious comments that didn’t sit well with the network’s upper management, including saying Nikki Haley was “past her prime,” and a tense on-air disagreement with Vivek Ramaswamy on race. He was fired shortly after, marking the end of a 17-year career as one of CNN’s most beloved hosts, where he was known for his brutal honesty that occasionally offended viewers. He told the LA Times in June he was “waiting for the right opportunity” and, apparently, that’s X.
Tulsi Gabbard will also appear on Musk’s new slate of shows. The former Hawaii Congresswoman quit the Democratic party in 2022 after an unsuccessful 2020 presidential run. She posted a video announcement on Twitter at the time calling Democratic leaders “warmongers who are driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoking anti-white racism.” She should fit in great on X.
The host of “The Jim Rome Show” is not a coincidental pick either. The sports commentator is notorious for getting into a physical altercation with NFL quarterback Jim Everett live on his radio show in 1994. Rome made a series of jokes intentionally confusing Everett’s name with a popular woman tennis player at the time, Chris Evert. Rome invited Mr. Everett on the show, a table was flipped, and the rest was history.
In the midst of the video launch, Musk has claimed that X is now a “video-first platform” as a means to claw back advertising dollars. The company is expanding access to a pilot on Feb. 1st with media metrics company Integral Ad Science, and it’s supposed to increase “brand safety” for advertisers on the platform, according to a blog post.
The three new shows mark X’s first venture into something of a streaming service. Don Lemon’s show will appear three days a week, Rome will appear five days a week, and Gabbard will do less frequent, documentary-style videos. Currently, it appears all of these shows are free, but X has been toying with subscriptions for the last few months, so watch while you can.
