The former CNN host Don Lemon has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, months after a partnership with Musk’s social media platform, X, was canceled. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the United States, where Lemon claims that the owner of X unjustly terminated their agreement, refused to pay him, and used the media personality’s name to attract advertisers.

According to legal documents, the lawsuit was submitted to the California Superior Court in San Francisco. X, formerly known as Twitter, canceled their partnership with Lemon in March after he announced that Musk would be his first guest in an interview. Musk later criticized Lemon, stating that his approach was simply “CNN, but on social media,” which he asserted did not work. Musk added that Lemon was welcome to build his own audience on the platform.

Lemon, who was a popular primetime host for many years, was fired from CNN in April of last year after 17 years with the cable network, where he also had a brief stint as a morning anchor. Since Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, X has struggled to retain advertisers following a series of controversies.

The platform signed Lemon, along with former U.S. Congress member Tulsi Gabbard and sports radio host Jim Rome in January, as part of an effort to expand video content on the site and attract advertisers again. The lawsuit claims that X had agreed to pay Lemon at least $1.5 million, plus additional payments as incentives and a share of advertising revenue.

“This case is straightforward. X’s management used Don to support their advertising sales, and then they canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud,” stated Lemon’s attorney, Carney Shegerian.