WBZ, Others Want ‘Reverse Discrimination’ Lawsuit Tossed

WBZ-TV , CBS, and Paramount have asked a federal judge to throw out most of former anchor Kate Merrill’s “reverse discrimination” lawsuit, arguing she failed to plead sufficient facts to support the majority of her claims.

In a motion to dismiss filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, attorneys for the station and its parent companies urged the court to toss four of the six counts in Merrill’s complaint, including her core allegations of race and gender discrimination under federal and Massachusetts law.

“Merrill has not pled sufficient facts” to sustain the claims, the defendants wrote, adding that her case rests on the “demeaning and unfounded stereotype” that WBZ hired and promoted people of color “only in furtherance of a ‘DEI agenda’” and not because they were qualified.

The Boston Herald reports Merrill, a white woman who anchored at WBZ for more than 20 years, sued the station, CBS, Paramount, and several individual executives earlier this year, seeking $4 million in damages. She claims she was demoted and constructively discharged in 2024 as the station pursued diversity goals that allegedly discriminated against white employees.

Kate Merrill

The motion directly attacks the heart of her case:

• Count I (Title VII race discrimination)
• Count IV (Massachusetts anti-discrimination law race claim)
• Count V (gender discrimination)
• Count VI (aiding and abetting discrimination)

Defendants argue the remaining two counts—retaliation and defamation—can proceed to discovery, but the bulk of the lawsuit should be dismissed now.

The dispute traces back to 2024, when Merrill says she was investigated for allegedly treating colleagues differently because of their race. One incident cited in court papers involved Merrill texting Black meteorologist Jason Mikell during a commercial break last April to correct his on-air pronunciation of “Concord.”

Merrill joined WBZ in 2004, rose to weekend anchor, and in 2017 became co-anchor of WBZ This Morning and the noon newscast. She left the station last year amid what she has called a forced resignation.A hearing on the motion to dismiss has not yet been scheduled.