Emmy Award-winning CBS anchor Jeff Vaughn has filed a lawsuit against the network, claiming that his termination was a result of CBS’s aggressive diversity push. Vaughn, a seasoned journalist with over 30 years of experience, alleges that his dismissal was solely based on his age, race, and gender.
In the lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, Vaughn names CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, as defendants. He states that CBS set a goal to have half of all writers be nonwhite by 2023 and required half of all cast members on their reality shows to be minorities. Vaughn believes that this mandate led to his replacement by a younger, minority news anchor in 2022.
According to the lawsuit, CBS’s actions were a response to what they perceived as a “white problem” within the company. Vaughn claims that “CBS decided that there were too many white males at CBS, and it acted accordingly. It needed to solve its ‘white problem’ by firing successful white males.”
This lawsuit is not the first of its kind. Earlier this year, a freelance writer on CBS’s show “SEAL Team” made similar allegations of discrimination. A New York Post investigation also revealed that CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews was accused of promoting minorities while sidelining white journalists, prompting an internal human relations probe in 2021.
Vaughn’s case sheds light on a troubling pattern of exclusion and marginalization at CBS. Despite his extensive experience and numerous Emmy wins, he claims to have been systematically sidelined leading up to his termination. For example, he was not included in CBS News’ 20th anniversary 9/11 special coverage, despite being the only member of the on-air team who had reported from Ground Zero on the day of the attacks.
Furthermore, Vaughn alleges that he was purposely excluded from CBS’s new promotional campaign for its evening shows in the fall of 2022. The lawsuit states that “the billboard included every one of Mr. Vaughn’s co-anchors, all of whom were either racial or gender minorities. He was the only anchor not placed on the billboard.”
Vaughn’s replacement coincided with CBS’s intensified efforts to increase diversity under the leadership of George Cheeks, co-CEO of Paramount and CBS CEO, and Wendy McMahon, CBS News and Stations president. Vaughn believes that these initiatives resulted in his replacement by Chauncy Glover, a 37-year-old African-American anchor from ABC’s Houston bureau.
On his last day, Vaughn claims that he was pressured by his manager to announce that his departure was voluntary. However, he refused, and the network issued a statement implying that he left of his own accord.
This lawsuit highlights the controversial nature of diversity hiring practices and their potential impact on experienced professionals. Vaughn’s case raises important questions about fairness, meritocracy, and the consequences of aggressive diversity mandates. It serves as a reminder of the complexities and potential pitfalls of implementing such policies in the workplace.
