Former ABC News field producer Samira Said accused CBS News chief correspondent Matt Gutman of making sexualized remarks toward her while the two worked together at ABC, according to a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles.
Said worked as a field producer in ABC News’s Los Angeles bureau from 2021 until 2025. Her complaint names Gutman, ABC, and The Walt Disney Company, according to TMZ. Gutman left ABC for CBS in January and now serves as chief correspondent.
The lawsuit alleges Gutman created a hostile work environment during two assignments. In one, Said alleges she was placed on an all-male team and that Gutman started a conversation rating a female correspondent’s looks.
“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 states, according to TheWrap.
Said claimed the male crew joined in and tried to draw her into the exchange. She declined and said the conversation was inappropriate, the complaint states.
The suit describes a second incident during a press day for a film release, when Said and Gutman disagreed about whether the team should leave the site. Gutman allegedly made a sexualized insinuation that Said “must have an after-hours date in the city.”
“The remark, made audibly to others, demeaned Said and reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype,” the lawsuit reads.
ABC sent Said to Uvalde, Texas, to cover the 2022 school shooting while she was still experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, the lawsuit claims. She came back with severe psychological symptoms. Her psychiatrist signed off on a leave. The complaint alleges the network then refused her accommodations and told her to return without them or quit. ABC fired her unlawfully, according to the filing. Said was terminated in March 2025. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. CBS is not a party to the suit.
Gutman joined CBS in January as the first major hire under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. He recently drew CBS Evening News its best ratings in months while filling in for anchor Tony Dokoupil.
While at ABC last September, Gutman described text messages between accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson and his transgender roommate as “very touching.”
Gutman later apologized, though his statement did not address his characterization of the exchange.