CBS News correspondent Matt Gutman has been accused of workplace harassment in a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by a former ABC News colleague, who alleges he made inappropriate comments while they worked together.
Samira Said, a field producer who worked for ABC News from May 2021 until March 2025, filed the lawsuit Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court against ABC News and its parent company, The Walt Disney Co. Gutman is also named as a defendant. Said alleges that Gutman created a hostile work environment through two incidents while they were colleagues at ABC News.
Gutman joined CBS News on Jan. 5, as chief correspondent, the first major on-air hire under CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss. He previously served as ABC News’ chief national correspondent, where he worked in various roles for nearly two decades.
According to the lawsuit, Said was placed on a “male-only team.” During one assignment, the suit alleges, “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.”
In another alleged incident, Said and Gutman disagreed about whether the team should leave a work site while covering a press event for a movie release.
“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 lawsuit states. “The remark, made audibly to others, demeaned Said and reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype.”
The lawsuit’s claims against ABC and Disney extend beyond Gutman’s alleged conduct. Said alleges that the companies later mishandled her requests for medical accommodations following an assignment covering the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
According to the lawsuit, Said was assigned to interview child survivors who witnessed the killings of their classmates. Following the assignment, she “experienced severe psychological symptoms” and “was still experiencing symptoms from COVID-19,” the suit states.
From August 2022 through January 2023, Said was granted medical leave, during which her “psychiatrist continued to certify the medical necessity of her leave on a recurring basis,” according to the lawsuit.
By early 2023, Said’s psychiatrist had cleared her to return to work “subject to reasonable accommodations designed to enable her to perform the essential functions of the position while protecting against re-exposure to trauma triggers.”
Said alleges that ABC denied her accommodation requests. She also claims that ABC News’ Los Angeles bureau chief David Herndon “made it clear that unless she returned without restrictions and with full-week availability, she would not be permitted to resume her role.”
“Following her medical leave and accommodation requests, Plaintiff was subjected to materially adverse treatment than she had experienced at any time prior to engaging in protected activity,” the lawsuit states.
Said alleges that she was subsequently assigned to weekend desk shifts.
In January 2025, while covering the Los Angeles wildfires and other hazardous weather-related events, Said alleges that she was injured on the job when heavy equipment struck her foot, resulting in a bone contusion. According to the lawsuit, she reported the injury to her supervisors and was evaluated by a Disney physician, who determined that she did not need to take leave.
ABC News terminated Said on March 5, 2025, according to the lawsuit. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorneys’ fees.
CBS News had no comment. The Hollywood Reporter also reached out to representatives for ABC News and Gutman but did not hear back by the time of publication.
