Samira Said, a former field producer for ABC News, sued veteran correspondent Matt Gutman for harassment over alleged inappropriate comments he made while they worked together at the network.
In the lawsuit, which was obtained a viewed by TheWrap, Said named Gutman, ABC and The Walt Disney Company, along with up to 100 Does, suing for discrimination in violation of the FEHA, hostile work environment/harassment, retaliation, failure to provide reasonable accommodation, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other allegations.
Said specifically called out Gutman in the document, alleging he created a hostile work environment by making inappropriate sexual remarks while they were working.
“During her employment, Said was placed on a male-only team including on-air correspondent Matt Gutman and two additional male crew members,” the lawsuit stated. “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 filing continued: “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.”
Elsewhere in the suit, Said recalled a tense conversation with Gutman, which allegedly resulted in the journalist “making a sexualized insinuation” about her personal life.
“On another occasion, during a press day related to a film release, Said and Gutman disagreed about whether the team should leave the work site,” the filing noted. “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.”
Said’s legal team argued that the remark “made audibly to others,” had demeaned [her] and reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype.”
Gutman was with ABC News for 17 years before departing the news network for CBS, where he serves as Chief Correspondent under Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss. He most recently made a splash while covering for Tony Dokoupil, as it marked CBS News’ best ratings in months.
As we mentioned, Said’s lawsuit also alleged that she was wrongfully terminated from ABC News in 2025 after a struggle with her mental health.
Namely, Said accused the company of violating California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, alleging they did not make accommodations for her.
“In or around May 2022, Said was assigned to travel to Uvalde, Texas, to cover the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School although she was still experiencing symptoms from COVID-19,” the suit stated. “Said remained on location for an extended period, where she was required to interview child survivors who had witnessed the killing of their classmates and teachers.”
The filing alleged: ”Following the Uvalde coverage, Said experienced severe psychological symptoms. Said promptly reported to supervisor Jena Harrison that she needed time off for her health and requested a short leave which Harrison declined.”
Per the document, Said was cleared by her psychiatrist to return to work “subject to reasonable accommodations,” but was denied.
“When Plaintiff attempted to address the denial through human resources, she was informed that it was supervisors … who had rejected the
accommodation requests,” the document claimed. “Defendants’ HR personnel presented Plaintiff with an ultimatum to either return to work without any accommodations, or not to return at all.”
Said’s suit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees.
Representatives for ABC News and CBS News did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
