Former ABC producer sues CBS over sexualized comments at work

Former ABC News field producer Samira Said filed a lawsuit against CBS News chief correspondent Matt Gutman, along with ABC News, The Walt Disney Co., and an ABC bureau chief on Friday. She claims Gutman made sexualized comments at work and that ABC eventually fired her after they rejected medical accommodations for trauma she suffered covering the Uvalde school massacre.

The complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court says Said alleged Gutman started talking about another female correspondent while she worked on a team that was otherwise all-male. "While the team waited in a public queue during the assignment, Gutman initiated a discussion rating a female correspondent's appearance and reducing her professional standing to a numerical score based on her physical attributes," the document states. The male crew joined in, continuing to assess the woman's body and looks while Said watched. The men tried to pull Said into the conversation by asking for her views. She declined and told them the talk was inappropriate.

A second alleged incident happened during a movie-release press event when Said and Gutman disagreed about whether their team should leave the work site. In front of multiple coworkers, Gutman responded with a sexualized insinuation that Said must have an after-hours date in the city and that this is why she did not want to relocate. The complaint says the remark was made audibly to others, demeaned Said, and reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype.

These allegations against Gutman are part of a broader lawsuit where Said accused ABC and Disney of discrimination, retaliation, failing to accommodate her medical conditions, and wrongfully terminating her employment. She worked in ABC News' Los Angeles bureau from May 2021 until March 2025, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Said alleged she was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms when management urged her to cover the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, back in May 2022. Her assignment included interviewing children who witnessed their classmates and teachers being killed. Afterward, she said she experienced severe psychological symptoms, the lawsuit states. A psychiatrist later cleared Said to return from medical leave with accommodations, but she alleged then-Los Angeles bureau chief David Herndon would not permit a restricted schedule. Herndon "made it clear that unless she returned without restrictions and with full-week availability, she would not be permitted to resume her role," the complaint said.

Said alleged she was subsequently moved to weekend desk shifts. She was later assigned to cover the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires and other hazardous weather events in the city. During that time, heavy equipment allegedly struck her foot and caused a bone contusion. ABC terminated Said during what had been presented as a routine meeting on March 5, 2025, the filing said. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys' fees, and a jury trial. The allegations have not been adjudicated yet.

Gutman joined CBS in January after 17 years at ABC and became the first major on-air hire under CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. CBS announced that Gutman would report for "CBS Mornings" and the "CBS Evening News," lead reporting for "48 Hours," contribute to "60 Minutes," and serve as a fill-in anchor.

Weiss praised Gutman's reporting when CBS announced his hiring. "Matt Gutman goes there," Weiss said. "He brings the audience along with him to whatever story he is covering, and he approaches his work with the qualities we look for in all our journalists: fearlessness, energy and relentlessness."

Fox News Digital reached out to Disney and CBS for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The situation remains under investigation as both sides prepare for what could be a long legal battle.

Disney officials confirmed to The Los Angeles Times they have not looked at the complaint yet.