Kate Merrill, a former anchor at WBZ-TV, filed a $4 million lawsuit against the station, its parent companies CBS and Paramount, and four former colleagues, alleging racial and gender discrimination.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston on August 5, 2025, claims that Merrill, who is white, faced "career-ending action" to advance a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda.
Merrill, who joined WBZ in 2004 as a reporter and became a morning show co-anchor in 2017, alleges she was demoted to weekend nights in May 2024 after two Black colleagues accused her of microaggressions and unconscious bias.
Merrill denies any discriminatory intent, asserting she had a history of supporting colleagues of all backgrounds.
The lawsuit claims WBZ’s management and Paramount’s investigation, led by Michael Roderick, failed to adequately consider her perspective or complaints about Mikell’s behavior. It further alleges that CBS’s push for diversity, following a 2020 Variety article criticizing the network’s lack of it, led to the replacement of white staff with less experienced minority employees.
Merrill resigned on May 24, 2024, citing the demotion’s “catastrophic damage” to her career and a non-compete clause that prevented her from working in journalism until June 1, 2025. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for unlawful discrimination, defamation, and failure to investigate her complaints properly.