Former ABC News field producer Samira Said filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, naming journalist Matt Gutman, ABC News, and parent company The Walt Disney Co. as defendants, according to court documents cited by the New York Post. The legal filing brings accusations of inappropriate sexual remarks and professional disparagement against Gutman, who currently anchors for CBS News, alongside broad claims of labor code violations and failure to accommodate medical leave at ABC News.
The lawsuit details two distinct workplace incidents from several years ago involving Gutman during active news assignments. According to the New York Post, Said claims that Gutman initiated a conversation rating a female correspondent’s appearance and reducing her professional standing to a numerical score based on her physical attributes while the two waited in a public line during an assignment. When other male crew members allegedly joined the exchange and pressed Said to participate, she refused and stated that the discussion was inappropriate.
A second alleged incident occurred while Said and Gutman were covering a movie press event and disagreed about whether they should leave the work site, according to the New York Post. The lawsuit states that Gutman responded to the disagreement by making a sexualized insinuation in front of multiple coworkers, suggesting that Said must have an after-hours date in the city. The filing alleges these remarks demeaned Said and reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype.
Wrongful Termination and Medical Accommodations Claims
The harassment claims against Gutman form a component of a larger wrongful termination and labor lawsuit brought by Said, who worked as an ABC News field producer for four years, as reported by the New York Post. Said claims she was wrongfully fired in 2025 following struggles with her mental health, accusing the network of violating California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act by failing to provide adequate medical accommodations.
The legal filing outlines intense field assignments that preceded Said’s request for medical leave. Said was assigned to cover the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, an assignment that required her to interview child survivors who witnessed their classmates being killed, according to the New York Post. Following that assignment, Said informed her supervisor that she required a short leave to address her health, but initial requests were denied before a psychiatrist eventually approved medical leave.
According to the New York Post, the lawsuit alleges that shortly after her medical leave commenced, David Herndon, then head of ABC’s Los Angeles bureau, continued sending assignment requests. Said was subsequently assigned to cover the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025. Approximately three weeks into the wildfire coverage, a supervisor sent her home after observing her physical condition deteriorating. Later that year, Said sustained a foot injury while covering a local weather-related story.
Network Context and Ratings Impact
The lawsuit arrives as Gutman maintains a prominent role at CBS News, where his recent turns filling in for vacationing anchor Tony Dokoupil behind the CBS Evening News desk coincided with a notable ratings increase, according to the New York Post. Nielsen data cited by the publication showed the broadcast averaged 4.1 million viewers for the week of July 27, marking its best weekly audience performance in 17 weeks and its first time surpassing 4 million viewers since late March.
Legal representatives for ABC, The Walt Disney Co., and Gutman have not yet issued detailed public defenses in court filings regarding the specific allegations. The case proceeds in Los Angeles Superior Court, where attorneys for both sides will address the statutory claims under California employment law.
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