Matt Gutman Accused of Sexual Harassment in Wrongful-Termination Lawsuit Filed by Former ABC News Co-Worker
Matt Gutman has been accused of sexual harassment by a former ABC News colleague.
Aug. 15 2026, Published 11:20 a.m. ET
CBS News Chief Correspondent Matt Gutman has been accused of sexual harassment by a former ABC News colleague in a lawsuit alleging she was wrongfully terminated, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the complaint claims Gutman made sexualized remarks and contributed to a hostile work environment.
Former ABC Producer Names Matt Gutman in Lawsuit
Matt Gutman was named in a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by former ABC News producer Samira Said.
Samira Said, who worked as a field producer in ABC News' Los Angeles bureau from May 2021 until March 2025, filed the lawsuit against ABC's parent company, Disney, and others, seeking unspecified damages, per Variety.
Said alleged she was treated unfairly after requesting medical leave and accommodations related to health issues.
The lawsuit accuses ABC of discrimination based on "gender/s--, ancestry and disability," as well as retaliation, failure to accommodate her medical needs, hostile work environment harassment and other claims.
Gutman's name appears in the complaint in connection with two alleged incidents involving sexualized comments.
Matt Gutman Allegedly Rated Female Correspondent's Appearance
Matt Gutman was accused of making sexualized remarks in two separate incidents, according to a lawsuit.
According to Said's lawsuit, she was assigned to a team that included Gutman and two other male crew members.
"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 lawsuit alleged.
"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," it added.
CBS Correspondent Accused of Making Sexualized Remark
Matt Gutman has been accused of making inappropriate comments to Samira Said.
The lawsuit also describes another alleged incident involving Gutman during a press event for a movie release.
Said claimed Gutman "disagreed about whether the team should leave the work site. 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."
"The remark, made audibly to others, demeaned Said and reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype," the lawsuit continued.
Said Claims ABC Retaliated After Medical Leave
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
The CBS News correspondent's former colleague filed the lawsuit against ABC's parent company, Disney.
Samira Said's lawsuit also centers on her treatment following an assignment covering the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
She claims she "experienced severe psychological symptoms" after the assignment and had also been dealing with lingering symptoms from COVID-19 at the time.
Said was granted medical leave from August 2022 through January 2023, according to the complaint.
She alleges that when she was cleared to return by her psychiatrist with recommended accommodations, ABC rejected her requests and required her to return without restrictions and with full-week availability.
She claims she was subsequently moved to weekend desk shifts and later suffered additional adverse treatment.
In March 2025, Said says she was fired after reporting a foot injury she sustained while covering hazardous weather-related events.
