Updated Aug. 16, 2026, 4:38 p.m. ET
A former ABC News journalist is accusing CBS News chief correspondent Matt Gutman of sexual harassment in a new lawsuit.
During his time at ABC News, Gutman, 48, now a lead correspondent at “48 Hours,” allegedly made a “sexualized insinuation” about former field producer Samira Said, according to a wrongful termination lawsuit she filed in Los Angeles on Aug. 14 and obtained by USA TODAY.
In the complaint, Said claims she was placed on an all-male team that included Gutman and two other crew members. She alleges Gutman initiated a conversation while on assignment in which he rated a female correspondent’s appearance, “reducing her professional standing to a numerical score based on her physical attributes.”
“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,” the lawsuit says.
Said also recounted another incident when she and Gutman disagreed about whether the team should leave a work site. She alleges he made a “sexualized insinuation” that she must have an after-hours date, according to the suit. “The remark, made audibly to others, demeaned Said and reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype,” the suit said.
USA TODAY has reached out to CBS News and ABC News for comment.
In a statement shared with USA TODAY, Aaron Gbewonyo, an attorney for Said, alleged that the circumstances surrounding her termination “constitute clear violations of the law, with profound and lasting consequences for her both personally and professionally,” and accused ABC of “unlawful conduct.”
“While this case centers on Ms. Said’s experience, we have reason to believe that ABC’s conduct was not an isolated incident,” Gbewonyo added. “Ms. Said’s decision to come forward reflects remarkable courage, and we hope her actions will inspire others who have faced similar treatment to do the same. Meaningful change in the workplace can only occur when employees are empowered to speak out against injustice.”
Lawsuit follows prior controversies surrounding Matt Gutman
Said worked as a field producer at ABC News’ LA bureau from May 2021 to March 2025. Gutman joined ABC News in 2008 as a radio correspondent before later serving as the network’s chief national correspondent. He joined CBS News in January, hired by new editor in chief Bari Weiss, and remains based in LA.
He previously faced controversy during his time at ABC News. Last September, he was condemned for calling texts from Tyler Robinson, who has been charged with assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, “very touching in a way we did not expect.” Gutman later apologized for his choice of words.
He also faced scrutiny in 2020, when he erroneously said on air that all four of Kobe Bryant’s children died in the fatal helicopter crash, which killed the Lakers legend, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. ABC News suspended him for the erroneous reporting.
Samira Said alleges she was told to work while she had COVID-19
In Said’s complaint, she also accuses ABC and former LA bureau chief David Herndon of requiring she work despite being under protected leave.
In 2022, she was assigned to travel to Uvalde, Texas, to cover the aftermath of the school shooting Robb Elementary, where 19 students and two teachers were killed, and she experienced “severe psychological symptoms,” according to the complaint. Before that assignment, she tested positive for COVID-19 and experienced symptoms during her time in Uvalde.
A psychiatrist granted her medical leave from August 2022 through January 2023, when she was cleared to work again “subject to reasonable accommodations designed to enable her to perform the essential functions of the position while protecting against re-exposure to trauma triggers.” Said claims in the lawsuit that ABC denied her request and Herndon “made it clear that unless she returned without restrictions and with full-week availability, she would not be permitted to resume her role,” the complaint reads.
Said was later “demoted” to only working weekend desk shifts around March 2023, according to the suit. ABC fired her in March 2025 shortly after she was covering a hazardous weather event and “sustained a workplace injury when heavy equipment struck her foot, resulting in a bone contusion.”
“Said reported the injury to her supervisors. A Disney physician evaluated Said and determined that her foot injury did not require her to take leave,” the complaint said.
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