A former executive at Paramount has initiated a discrimination lawsuit against the company, asserting that he was dismissed due to his “old-fashioned” beliefs and his race.
Joseph Jerome filed the lawsuit in a California federal court, arguing that the entertainment giant’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies contributed to his firing in 2024, as reported by a media outlet.
Interestingly, since Donald Trump became president, there have been reductions or eliminations of DEI policies at Paramount.
Jerome, who has been with the company since 1994 and was most recently a production advisor, claims in his lawsuit that he and two other white lawyers from CBS Media Ventures were terminated and replaced with minority employees.
He alleges that he was succeeded by a 25-year-old Black law school graduate and former intern, while two colleagues were replaced by younger Asian lawyers impacted by previous corporate restructuring.
According to the complaint, as of early 2024, CBS Media Ventures had a near-equal distribution of white and minority lawyers, but all lawyers who lost their jobs in the department were white and over the age of 50.
Jerome recounts a meeting in late 2023 with former CBS News President Wendy McMahon, where he expressed concerns that the network’s content was skewing towards an older audience and mentioned a push to hire younger staff to appeal to a younger demographic.
Following that conversation, he received criticism for having “outdated” perspectives, particularly after he flagged excessive legal jargon being used in talks about a potential deal.
This lawsuit comes on the heels of CBS Studios settling another discrimination case in April, in which it was alleged that he was overlooked for a promotion due to not fulfilling “the diversity box” as a white, straight individual.
The suit also references past comments made by former CBS CEO George Cheeks about striving for 40 percent BIPOC representation in the upcoming writers’ room and increasing that target to 50 percent in the subsequent season.
Jerome’s legal team argues that he faced discrimination based on his race and age, violating both federal and state laws. They are seeking both statutory and punitive damages for the former Paramount employees.
