Anti-trans Tulsi Gabbard & disgraced gay journalist Don Lemon now have shows on X

As part of Elon Musk’s efforts to make X a video-focused platform and attract more advertisers, the social media company has announced new shows hosted by anti-trans politician Tulsi Gabbard and disgraced out journalist Don Lemon.

The pair will join the vehemently anti-LGBTQ+ Tucker Carlson, who launched a show on the platform in June after being fired from Fox News.

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In a video announcing her partnership with X, Gabbard lauded the importance of free speech and claimed, “We live in a time where free speech is under attack” and “even having a dialogue, debate is not only discouraged but can be cause for retaliation, cancellation, or censorship.”

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She said under Musk, X has become a platform that defends, celebrates, and encourages free speech. In reality, it has become a platform where hate speech has skyrocketed while journalists get their accounts suspended if they speak out against Musk.

Her projects, she said, will “tell the stories and tell the truth” about what’s happening in America and around the world that “those in power don’t want us to hear.” She said she’ll also share a series of short films to “lift up the voices of those who are most negatively impacted by the decisions of those in power.”

Freedom of speech is a fundamental right in America. Sadly we live in a time where debate, dialogue and dissent can be cause for cancellation and censorship by those in power. To defend free speech, we must use it. I’m announcing a new partnership today with X where under… pic.twitter.com/yGJRliGndq

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) January 9, 2024

Gabbard, a former Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaii and former presidential candidate, has a long history of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. In 2022, she announced she was leaving the Democratic party, citing perennial rightwing complaints like “wokeness” and “anti-white racism.”

As a young politician, she railed against pro-marriage advocates as “homosexual extremists” and once worked for a religious-right hate group that promoted conversion therapy.  She apologized for these offenses when she unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020, but she also accused Democrats of “fomenting religious bigotry” for wanting Christian judges not to impose their religious beliefs on others.

During her presidential campaign, Gabbard refused to respond to an HRC questionnaire on LGBTQ issues, unlike every other major Democratic candidate. After her campaign crashed and burned, she spent her final days in Congress introducing legislation to ban trans women from sports that could have required genital examinations for young girls. She has said that gender-neutral language denies the “existence of women.” 

In 2022, she also spoke at the far-right Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) alongside anti-LGBTQ politicians like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).

In celebrating his own partnership with X, Lemon called the social media company “the biggest space for free speech in the world.”

“I know now more than ever that we need a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors,” he continued. “This is just the beginning so stay tuned.”

pic.twitter.com/ZO9g546oYo

— Don Lemon (@donlemon) January 9, 2024

In April 2023, Lemon was booted from CNN after months of controversies involving a series of sexist comments and alleged behind-the-scenes misogyny toward women colleagues.

In addition to the partnership with Gabbard and Lemon, X also announced a content deal with sports radio host Jim Rome.

The shows are part of Musk’s attempt to offer brand-safe locations for advertisers, as a rise in hate speech on the platform (including from Musk, himself) has driven many away.

At a recent conference in New York, Musk took aim at advertisers who have left X, specifically calling out Disney CEO Bob Iger.

“Don’t advertise. If someone is going to try and blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f**k yourself,” Musk said. “Go f**k yourself, is that clear? Hey, Bob, if you’re in the audience. That’s how I feel, don’t advertise.”