CBS star Matt Gutman is facing a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by fellow journalist Samira Said.
Gutman's stint behind the CBS Evening News desk delivered a much needed boost to the network in terms of ratings. Nielsen data showed that the program averaged 4.1 million viewers for the week of July 27, which was its best weekly audience in 17 weeks. It also marked the first time since March that the show managed over 4 million viewers.
Gutman has been filling in for vacationing anchor Tony Dokoupil. The 48-year-old was, however, sued on Friday by Said who accused him of making inappropriate sexual remarks during two assignments which took place several years back.
A copy of the lawsuit can be accessed here. Notably, Said's Muck Rack profile is verified, which means the journalist confirmed that the profile belongs to her.
Said alleged in her lawsuit that she was wrongfully terminated by ABC after seeking and being denied medical leave as well as accommodations for her medical conditions on numerous occasions.
In the same lawsuit, she has alleged that Gutman made it a hostile work environment by making ‘sexualized’ comments to her.
As per Said, she was placed on a ‘male only’ team which included Gutman and two other male crew members, during her time at ABC News.
“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 male crew joined in, continuing to assess the woman’s body and looks in Said’s presence. The men attempted to draw Said into the conversation by soliciting her views. Said declined and stated the conversation was inappropriate,” the lawsuit alleges.
In another instance, during a press day for a film release, Said said that Gutman “disagreed about whether the team should leave the work site. In front of multiple coworkers, Gutman responded by making 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 remark, made audibly to others, demeaned Said and reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype.”
As per reports, Gutman is yet to respond to the allegations, as is ABC News, which has been named in the lawsuit as well.
Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More
