Billionaire Elon Musk abruptly canceled �The Don Lemon Show” on his social media network X after the former CNN anchor recorded an interview with the billionaire for its as-yet unaired first episode.

Musk owns X, formerly known as Twitter, and frequently proclaims himself a �free speech absolutist.� In a post on X, the San Francisco-based company said only that after careful consideration, it “decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show.� It added that Lemon’s show �is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities.�

In a video posted to X on Wednesday, Lemon declared that � Elon Musk is mad at me ? and said he will be airing his interview with the Tesla CEO on YouTube and via podcast on Monday.

Lemon didn�t go into specifics about the source of Musk�s alleged unhappiness, but wrote, �Throughout our conversation, I kept reiterating to him that although it was tense at times, I thought it was good for people to see and hear our exchange and that they would learn from our conversation.�

�But apparently free speech absolutism doesn�t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me,� Lemon added.

X announced in January a �new content partnership� with Lemon for the show, saying it would post 30 minute episodes three times a week on subjects including politics, culture, sports and entertainment. That deal was part of the struggling platform’s efforts to bolster its content offerings and attract advertisers. X also announced shows hosted by former member of Congress Tulsi Gabbard and sports radio host Jim Rome.

Lemon was fired by CNN last year after a 17-year run with the network. His ouster came a little over two months after he apologized for on-air comments about then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley not being in �her prime� that he made during his short run as a morning show host.

(AP)