Matt Gutman Removed From ABC Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
- Former ABC News field producer Samira Said has dropped Matt Gutman from her ongoing wrongful termination and harassment lawsuit against ABC News and The Walt Disney Co., according...
- According to the complaint filed by Said, the dispute involving Gutman occurred while an all-male team and Said waited in a public queue during an assignment.
- Fox News reported that a second alleged incident occurred during a movie-release press event, where Gutman allegedly made a sexualized insinuation after Said disagreed about whether their team...
Former ABC News field producer Samira Said has dropped Matt Gutman from her ongoing wrongful termination and harassment lawsuit against ABC News and The Walt Disney Co., according to recent court filings. The legal action, originally filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, centers on discrimination, retaliation, and failure to accommodate medical conditions stemming from trauma Said experienced while covering the May 2022 mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, according to reporting from Fox News.
Gutman Dropped From Legal Action
Disputes Detailed in the Complaint
According to the complaint filed by Said, the dispute involving Gutman occurred while an all-male team and Said waited in a public queue during an assignment. The filing alleged that Gutman initiated a conversation rating a female correspondent’s physical appearance and reducing her professional standing to a numerical score based on attributes, while other male crew members joined in and solicited Said’s views, which she declined as inappropriate.
Fox News reported that a second alleged incident occurred during a movie-release press event, where Gutman allegedly made a sexualized insinuation after Said disagreed about whether their team should leave the work site.
Trauma, Workplaces, and Denied Accommodations
The broader lawsuit targets ABC News, The Walt Disney Co., and a local bureau chief over employment practices following Said’s tenure in the Los Angeles bureau from May 2021 until March 2025.
Said alleged that management urged her to cover the Uvalde shooting while she experienced COVID-19 symptoms, and that she subsequently suffered severe psychological trauma after interviewing children who witnessed the deaths of their classmates and teachers. Although a psychiatrist cleared her to return from medical leave with accommodations, former Los Angeles bureau chief David Herndon allegedly refused a restricted schedule and required full-week availability, according to the court documents cited by Fox News.
Wildfire Injury and Termination
Subsequent assignments included weekend desk shifts and coverage of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, during which heavy equipment struck her foot and caused a bone contusion, the complaint stated.
ABC News terminated Said during a meeting on March 5, 2025, according to the lawsuit. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and a jury trial, though Gutman is no longer a party to the wrongful termination suit.