Matt Gutman Dropped From Former ABC News Field Producer’s Wrongful Termination Lawsuit; Disney, ABC Remain As Defendants
Matt Gutman, now a chief correspondent at CBS News, has been dropped as a defendant from a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by former ABC News field producer Samaira Said, according to court filings made in Los Angeles Superior Court. Said's lawyers requested his removal from the case without giving a reason, though The Walt Disney Co., ABC and former Los Angeles bureau chief David Herndon remain as defendants. The move follows just three weeks after Gutman was first named in the suit, which had accused him of making demeaning, sexualised remarks about Said.
The lawsuit, filed last month, alleges wrongful termination, discrimination, hostile work environment harassment and retaliation, with Said claiming she was let go after being denied accommodations for mental health issues, including depression, for which she was receiving psychiatric treatment. It detailed incidents in which Gutman allegedly rated a female correspondent's appearance in front of Said and made a sexualised insinuation about her personal life during a work dispute. Said also said she rushed her return from medical leave in 2022 after covering Covid and the Uvalde mass shooting, fearing she would lose her job. Neither CBS News nor ABC News has commented on the litigation.
- Matt Gutman removed as defendant in ex-ABC producer's lawsuit
- Disney and ABC remain defendants; no reason given for Gutman's exit
- Suit alleges wrongful termination, harassment and denied mental health accommodations
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Matt Gutman is a television journalist who spent years at ABC News before recently moving to CBS News, where he now works as a chief correspondent. He had been named as a defendant in a legal case brought against ABC and its parent company, Disney, by Samaira Said, a former field producer at the network. Said's lawsuit alleges she was wrongfully dismissed after being denied support for mental health difficulties, and that she experienced harassment and discrimination during her time there.
The case centres on claims that a hostile working environment developed at ABC News, with Said alleging inappropriate and sexualised comments were made about her, including by Gutman. Disney, ABC and a former bureau chief, David Herndon, are also named in the suit. The dispute touches on wider questions about how newsrooms handle complaints of harassment and requests for workplace accommodations linked to mental health.
This matters because it involves a well-known broadcaster and one of America's largest media companies, and because employment disputes of this kind can shape how such organisations are expected to treat staff welfare and misconduct complaints going forward. Neither CBS News nor ABC News has commented publicly on the litigation so far.