In March, Brian Beneker, a freelance scriptwriter who formerly wrote for CBS’s Seal Team series, sued the network for being denied a staff writer position while open positions were filled with others who had less experience and fewer qualifications than he did.
According to America First Legal Foundation, Beneker claims CBS discriminated against him because he is white and heterosexual, while the network instead filled its writing roles with people of non-white races and LGBTQIA sexual orientations.
Using Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the law firm stated its course of action:
“AFL sued on behalf of our client, Brian Beneker, against Paramount Global, CBS Entertainment, and CBS Studios for allegedly violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and discriminating against Mr. Beneker by denying him employment and career opportunities based on race, sex, and sexual orientation.”
Citing a press release from CBS parent company Paramount Beneker’s lawsuit states the network had a diversity quota to ensure that 56% of its employees were non-white or LGBTQIA in 2020-2021. The percentage shifted to 50% in 2023, according to the Huffington Post.
According to Huffington Post, the network committed 25% of its development budget to fund projects from diverse writers. They also mandated that writers rooms on CBS shows must be at least 40% BIPOC representation, aiming to reach 50% by 2023.
On July 15, CBS responded legally to Beneker’s suit. The network referred to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in a Notice of Motion and Dismissal against the allegations of Beneker and his attorneys:
“CBS makes this motion on the grounds that CBS has a constitutional right under the First Amendment to select the writers whose work shapes CBS’s artistic enterprise. CBS also asserts that aspects of Beneker’s Second Amended Complaint are time-barred and fail to state a claim on which relief can be granted.”
According to Reuters, on August 14, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter ordered against CBS’s claims concluding “that the issues raised by Defendant are more appropriately resolved on a motion for summary judgment.”
The lawsuit addresses several individuals who met the diversity quota and were thus hired, despite their lack of experience. Beneker asked CBS Showrunner Spencer Hudnut why a certain writer was hired. Hudnut told him it was because the writer was black.
The same tendency continued when two writers’ assistants were hired as staff writers over Beneker. Hudnut told Beneker that these writers — a lesbian woman and a black woman — fit the network’s diversity quota and was the reason why they were hired instead of Beneker.
Before Beneker became a freelance writer for CBS, he was a script coordinator. Upon being offered a freelance scriptwriting opportunity, he was told he had to step down from script coordinating. The network had even offered him an eventual staff writing position, which was never fulfilled.
The suit goes on to address several other new writers hired for the same reason, while Beneker continued to remain in his same freelance position.
Ultimately, Hudnut told Beneker he would never be hired for a staff writer position because he did not fit the network’s diversity requirement for its writers. The lawsuit uses this as evidence to prove that CBS discriminated against the race, sex, gender, and sexual orientation of Beneker.
According to America First Legal Foundation, in light of incurred damages due to lost wages, Beneker is seeking back pay and future pay, compensation for loss of benefits, and expected wage increases from his contract. These are expected to amount to $500,000.
This piece first appeared at TPUSA.
