Don Lemon Not Worried About Elon Musk's Influence on Trump 'This Is America, We All Have Power'

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MORE CONCERNS THAN ELON
TMZ.com

Don Lemon isn't losing sleep over Elon Musk's influence on President-elect Donald Trump ... though, he does think people should be concerned about billionaires' control of the media.

We caught up with the newsman at LAX a day before he announced his decision to exit Musk's social media site ... and he shared his 2 cents on the Tesla CEO's close relationship with the soon-to-be 47th President of the United States.

As Lemon put it ... Trump's win doesn't heighten Musk's impact, as the businessman already had a massive reach given his net worth and resources. Lemon is doubtful Musk would step into an official role in Trump's administration, theorizing the tech magnate would follow in the footsteps of billionaires before him ... influencing the prez from behind the scenes.

'Yellowstone' Fans Lassoing Up Haters Over Kevin Costner's Exit ... Particularly Pissed at Femme Fatale

Kevin Costner's exit from "Yellowstone" was made permanent in its season 5 return ... eliciting a strong reaction from fans -- with an immense amount of vitriol directed at one character.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!

The Paramount Network drama made its highly anticipated return Sunday and with it, an apparent final call about Costner's future on the show by ...  killing off the beloved Dutton patriarch, John.

Adam Schefter I Never Used MethStreams!!! ... Jokes About Ordeal With Pat McAfee

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laughing it off
ESPN

Adam Schefter is adamant he doesn't use illegal streams to catch NFL games ... but if ya thought he was seriously bothered by the allegations -- think again, 'cause he just laughed off the claims in a hilarious chat with Pat McAfee!!

Schefter, of course, was accused of using MethStreams to skirt around Amazon Prime's paywall last week when the Jets vs. Texans were playing on "Thursday Night Football."

The ESPN insider posted a highlight from the game to his X page -- but after a watermark on the clip revealed it was from MethStreams -- many accused him of rippin' off the league he covers.

John Hinckley Jr. 'We Got a Job For Ya' Secret Service Aware of Requests to Kill Trump

John Hinckley Jr., the attempted assassin who shot President Ronald Reagan in the '80s, is now getting a barrage of heinous requests online ... asking him to do the same to President-elect Donald Trump.

The jarring posts popped up on X after Hinckley posted a link to his community website Tuesday, encouraging fans to check out his new music ... only to see a number of people respond with wishes for him to take out Trump hours after DT won the 2024 presidential election.

The comments are beyond troubling, with some telling Hinckley they've "got a job for [him]" and that the country needs him "now more than ever."

Tim Walz Appears To Call Elon 'Gay Guy' ... Billionaire Responds

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'GAY' GAFFE

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz appeared to call Elon Musk a "gay guy" on the campaign trail ... but the billionaire is brushing off the apparent gaffe.

Kamala Harris' running mate was giving a speech Friday in Detroit, Michigan when he started talking about Elon getting a big tax cut.

Walz appears to say ... "If you're a billionaire, Elon Musk for example, say. That guy, that gay guy got" before stopping himself and laughing ... playing it off by saying, "Michigan knows that word."

Adam Schefter I'm Not A MethStreams Guy ... Game Clip Taken From X

Adam Schefter had football fans in a tizzy after being accused of using an illegal streaming site to watch "Thursday Night Football" ... but sure enough, it wasn't what it looked like.

The longtime ESPN talent posted a clip of Jets receiver Malachi Corley's bone-headed fumble during the second quarter of New York's matchup with the Houston Texans ... but instead of focusing on the lowlight, folks noticed a MethStreams watermark in the top left corner of the video.

Naturally, that led people to assume Schefty didn't have an Amazon Prime membership and wanted to use other means to tune in to the action ... which would be a bad look for one of the biggest insiders in the league.

Zach Bryan Let's Squash This Bad Blood, Swifties Apologizes For Kanye Post

Zach Bryan's backing off his recent Taylor Swift comments ... apologizing to her legions of fans after he says he did some drunk posting on X the other night.

The singer-songwriter posted a pic of T-Swift's album cover of "The Tortured Poets Department" ... explaining he recently wrote he thinks Kanye makes better music than Swift because he drunkenly tried to compare two albums -- and, it came out all wrong.

ZB says he was speaking strictly musically, and wasn't cosigning any of Ye's other beliefs ... before adding he loves Taylor's music too -- and simply screwed up in his post.

Donald Trump Sometimes Regret My Social Posts ... After Oral Sex Reposts

Donald Trump's sharing some cyber regrets ... admitting he sometimes wishes he didn't post a few of the more brutal "truths" to social media -- but, it ain't very often.

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REPOST REGRET
Lex Fridman Podcast

The Republican nominee for president sat down for an interview on Lex Fridman's podcast Tuesday ... and, Lex asked him if he ever thinks twice about firing off some of his raw thoughts on Truth Social.

DJT replies he does have some regrets ... but, only every once in a while. So, don't think for a sec 45's rethinking every controversial tweet -- or Truths, as posts on Truth Social (the site he owns) are called.

Brooke Schofield I'm Back On Podcast With Tana ... After Racist Tweet Backlash

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HANGIN' IN THERE
TMZ.com

Brooke Schofield says she's teaming back up with Tana Mongeau for their podcast ... after taking a hiatus following outrage over resurfaced racist social media posts.

We got Brooke at the Montage in Beverly Hills on Thursday and she told our photog she was getting ready to film the 'Cancelled' podcast with Tana.

It's a pretty shocking return ... just a few weeks ago Tana ditched Brooke and went solo after her podcast partner's old racist posts reared their ugly head.

Travis Kelce's Dad I've Been 86'd From X Forever!!!

Travis Kelce's dad's officially a Facebook first kinda guy ... 'cause he says he received a lifetime ban from X, and he's not sure why.

Ed Kelce took to Facebook yesterday to share a Newsmax article alleging Houthi arms dealers are selling weapons on X ... and, in it, he mentions he's banned for life from Elon Musk's platform.

EK says he got a lifetime ban for a "generic 'Terms Of Service' violation." He later clarified he wasn't banned because of this specific post, but instead posted it just to point out the platform's hypocrisy.

Jenna Ortega Filthy AI Pics of Me Just Too Much ... I Had to Delete Twitter/X

There's a simple reason you won't find Jenna Ortega on X/Twitter ... AI generated sexual images of herself forced her to flee the social media platform, and soured her on the technology.

Jenna, who's 21 now, says the visual assault started years ago when she was in her teens, and was encouraged to get on then-Twitter to boost her profile as an actor -- but it immediately became a nightmare.

She told The Interview podcast, "I hate AI. Did I like being 14 and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No. It’s terrifying. It’s corrupt. It’s wrong."

DIDDY NAMED AMONG INVESTORS IN ELON MUSK'S TWITTER TAKEOVER

Diddy was one of the investors who helped Elon Musk snag X -- back when it was still called Twitter -- for $44B in 2022 ... according to a newly unsealed list of the platform's shareholders.

The doc went public Wednesday ... listing nearly 100 entities as part-owners, with Diddy named under 'Sean Combs Capital, LLC' alongside other big names like Bill Ackman, Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

Exactly how much the now-disgraced music mogul invested in X isn’t clear ... and as of August 2024, it’s not publicly known who still holds shares in the company.

Donald Trump, Elon Musk Glitches and Lisps During X Interview

The X interview between Donald Trump and Elon Musk went off with a big hitch -- the interview was delayed for nearly an hour because of tech issues -- but it was what appeared to be a lisp by 45 that stole the show ... at least on social media.

It was almost cartoon-like, as Trump sounded like he was slurring his words, but it came off like a not-so-subtle lisp.

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CARTOONISH CONVERSATION
X

Some folks are passing it off to the technical problems that dogged the interview from the jump. One person called it "audio compression." Others thought it might be evidence he just had dental work.

Donald Trump To Elon Musk Illegal Immigration Saved My Life ... Back To Butler In October

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SAVED BY IMMIGRATION
X

Elon Musk and Donald Trump are finally chopping it up ... the former president is doing a live interview on Elon's social media platform, X, after a rough start to the much-ballyhooed event ... and they're focusing on illegal immigration and the assassination attempt.

Trump got a huge laugh out of Elon when he said ... "Illegal immigration saved my life."

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SHOTS FIRED

The former president was talking about how a chart on illegal immigration led to him turning his head ever so slightly at his July 13 rally in Butler, PA ... moving his head just enough to avoid being hit squarely by a bullet when Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire.

Donald Trump Breaks X Silence With Campaign Ads ... 1 Year After Mug Shot

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is back on the social media platform that once booted him -- breaking a year-long silence on X to drop new campaign videos, and hyping his next big interview.

A two-and-a-half-minute ad that posted Monday morning not only serves to promote Trump's campaign, but ya can't ignore the timing of him using X after such a long break. It's no coincidence X owner Elon Musk will be interviewing Trump on a live stream Monday evening ... which will be hosted on Trump's X page.

Trump typically saves his social posts for his own platform, Truth Social, or TikTok -- and hasn't posted on X since August 2023, when he proudly uploaded his Georgia mug shot, and wrote, "Never surrender" ... raising millions for his campaign, in the process.

Don Lemon Sues Elon For Fraud Over Failed X Deal ... You Used Me!!!

Don Lemon is taking legal action against Elon Musk after his X show was unceremoniously canceled after one episode ... now claiming he was never paid properly.

The longtime newsman hit the tech CEO with a lawsuit Thursday, in which he alleges EM refused to pay him after their deal fell apart. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Elon made a verbal promise to pay DL $1.5 million a year to make videos for X ... as a way to draw in dwindling advertisers.

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WHY SO MAD ELON ???

Don claims he was also promised a share of the advertising revenue and other cash incentives if his presence on X (formerly Twitter) grew -- but Don's claiming Elon bailed on that agreement ... which Don believes violates the law.