As CBS and its parent company Paramount Global navigate a high-stakes lawsuit from President Donald Trump, the media conglomerate quietly settled another lawsuit alleging racism against a straight white male employee.
In 2024, former “Seal Team” script coordinator and author Brian Benaker sued Paramount Global, CBS Entertainment and CBS Studios for illegal discrimination in order to repeatedly deny progress in his career based on his race, gender and sexual orientation.
According to First Legal (AFL)He representing Benaker in the case, eventually agreed to a settlement after AFL Senior Advisor Nick Barry described it as a satisfying move based on his public departure from his Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policy.
CBS has settled a lawsuit alleging discrimination against employees. (Photo by Erik McGregor/Lightrocke via Getty Images | istock)
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“American First Legal is pleased that Paramount and CBS will return DEI requirements to the public and return to merit-based considerations. Diversity allocations that discriminate on the basis of race are illegal, others in the entertainment industry said in a statement Monday.
Fox News Digital reached out to CBS for comment.
An AFL spokesman also told Fox News Digital there was no further legal action in the case.
The original lawsuit allegedly claimed that despite working on the show since the first season of 2017, Benaker was repeatedly denied promotion to full-time staff writers, and that a few writers were hired with little or no experience.
When confronting the showrunners, Benaker claimed he was told “don’t check out the box of diversity” to ensure progress.
CBS previously prioritized diversifying the writers’ rooms in 2020. (Getty Images)
AFL also cited previous comments in 2020 from then-CEO George Cheeks announcement Efforts to secure 40% of all writers’ rooms have the “Bipok representative” for the 2021-22 season, with a goal of increasing to 50% for the 2022-23 season.
February 2025, Paramount Global Heads notification Employees will roll back these initiatives in the wake of Trump’s reelection and anti-DEI policies.
This no longer uses “ambitious numerical targets” to adopt and terminate the race, ethnic, gender, or gender data of potential applicants, except where legally necessary.
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The announcement comes as Paramount Global agreed to mediate with Trump’s legal team earlier this month, indicating a settlement in a $20 billion lawsuit against them.
President Trump has filed a $20 billion lawsuit against CBS, alleging election interference in handling CBS interviews. (Left: (Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Image), Right: (Photo by Thasos Katopodis/Getty Image), Right: Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg by Getty Images)
Trump is seeking $20 billion in a lawsuit against CBS and claims election interference in handling the “60-minute” interview with then-President Kamala Harris last year. The president accused him of supporting 2024 Democrat opponents through a deceptive editorial just weeks before the presidential election.
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Jeffrey Clark of Fox News contributed to this report.
