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A former field producer at ABC News filed a lawsuit Friday against CBS News correspondent Matt Gutman, ABC News, The Walt Disney Co. and an ABC bureau chief, claiming workplace misconduct and discriminatory employment practices. Samira Said’s complaint, lodged in Los Angeles Superior Court, details allegations spanning her tenure at ABC’s Los Angeles bureau from May 2021 through March 2025.
According to the legal filing, Gutman engaged in inappropriate workplace behavior during an assignment when he initiated discussion rating a female correspondent’s physical appearance and assigning her a numerical score. The complaint states that male crew members joined the conversation while assessing the woman’s body, and that Said rejected efforts to draw her into the exchange, telling colleagues the discussion was inappropriate.
A second incident allegedly occurred at a movie-release press event when Gutman made a sexualized remark about Said’s reluctance to relocate, suggesting she had an after-hours personal commitment in the city. The complaint characterizes this statement as reducing Said’s professional judgment to a sexual stereotype made audibly in front of multiple coworkers.
Said alleges she developed severe psychological symptoms after covering the May 2022 Uvalde school shooting, during which she interviewed child witnesses. She claims ABC management pressured her to work despite COVID-19 symptoms and later refused to accommodate her medical restrictions upon her return from leave.
Said contends she was reassigned to weekend desk shifts and subsequently assigned to cover hazardous weather assignments, including the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, where equipment allegedly struck her foot causing a bone contusion. ABC terminated her employment on March 5, 2025, according to the filing.
Gutman joined CBS in January after 17 years at ABC, becoming the first major on-air hire under CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. He was assigned to report for multiple CBS programs including “CBS Mornings,” “CBS Evening News,” “48 Hours” and “60 Minutes,” while serving as a fill-in anchor.
Said seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial. Representatives from Disney and CBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment, though a Disney spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times that executives had not yet reviewed the complaint. The allegations have not been adjudicated.
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