Former ABC Producer Drops Matt Gutman From Lawsuit

A former ABC News field producer has asked a court to drop CBS News chief correspondent Matt Gutman as a defendant in her wrongful termination lawsuit, which alleged he sexually harassed her while they worked together.

Samira Said’s lawyers filed the request Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Said sued ABC News and parent company The Walt Disney Co. on Aug. 14 after four years as a field producer. ABC and Disney remain defendants. The claims against Gutman and former ABC News Los Angeles Bureau Chief Dave Herndon also remain in the complaint.

Samira Said

The lawsuit cites two incidents in which Said said Gutman created a hostile work environment by making inappropriate sexual comments on the job. Gutman, through a CBS News representative, declined to comment. Said’s lawyers did not respond to an email asking why they sought to remove him as a defendant.

Said alleges she was wrongfully fired in 2025 after struggling with mental health issues and that ABC violated California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act by failing to accommodate her. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages plus attorneys’ fees.

Gutman, 48, spent 17 years at ABC News, mostly reporting from Los Angeles. He was the first high-profile on-air hire by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss after she took over the division in October. He recently filled in as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” and drew higher ratings than regular anchor Tony Dokoupil.