CNN Racism Scandal Explodes: Ex-reporter Saima Mohsin Claims Network Fired Her After Being Told She Didn't Have 'the Look'
Jul. 10 2023, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Former CNN reporter Saima Mohsin sued the network over racial discrimination and unfair dismissal, RadarOnline.com has learned. London-based Mohsin, 46, filed the lawsuit after she claimed a 2014 assignment in Israel left her with an "invisible disability." The former reporter claimed she was injured by her cameraman while covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Jerusalem.
The lawsuit was filed under an employment tribunal claim and was to be heard in a London court on Monday.
According to the Guardian, Mohsin claimed that while on assignment in Jerusalem for CNN, her cameraman ran over her left foot. The reporter alleged the accident severely damaged the soft tissue in her foot, which resulted in difficulty sitting, standing, walking, and working full-time.
Given her injury, Mohsin alleged that she was denied requested alternative assignments and support for rehab by CNN.
The ex-CNN reporter also alleged that her former network told her, "You don’t have the look we are looking for," when she asked for work with reduced travel. Mohsin claimed that three years after she requested coverage change, her contract was terminated.
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Mohsin alleged in her lawsuit that she was unfairly dismissed — and that CNN discriminated against staffers based on race and disability.
"I worked hard to become an international correspondent and loved my job with CNN. I risked my life many times on assignment for CNN believing they would have my back. They did not," Mohsin said of her former network.
The current Sky News reporter additionally accused CNN of gender wage discrimination.
Mohsin claimed that despite being more conveniently located in the U.K., CNN managers denied her the opportunity for higher-paying assignments, which were allegedly given to white American reporters with the network.
CNN rejected Mohsin's lawsuit and allegations based on territorial grounds, claiming she was unable to bring the lawsuit against her former network in London based on her contract.
Mohsin began working for CNN as the network's Pakistan correspondent before she served as an international correspondent.