A former long-time Boston television anchor is suing CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, claiming that she was forced out of her job to make way for the media giant’s DEI quotas.
Katherine Merrill Dunham, better known to viewers as Kate Merrill, claims network executives were worried that WBZ-TV was becoming “too white,” and chose to sideline her after more than two decades as an anchor at the station, according to court documents.
The Emmy Award–winning broadcaster filed her legal complaint against CBS earlier this month, saying she was demoted, humiliated in front of colleagues, and eventually pressured to resign – all under the guise of CBS’s “DEI agenda.”
According to the lawsuit, Merrill’s troubles escalated when a black co-worker, meteorologist Jason Mikell, allegedly made a sexually charged remark about her on-air but faced no consequences.
When Merrill raised concerns, she was hit with accusations of “racial bias” from Mikell and another anchor. Paramount would go on to later discipline her for so-called “microaggressions” and ordered her to undergo “unconscious bias training,” per The New York Post.
The following day, Merrill claimed the company leaders at her news station announced her demotion.
Merrill insists she was the victim of malicious and false allegations. “WBZ-TV exploited such policies and took career-ending action against Ms. Merrill to advance a DEI agenda,” her filing states. She also says minority colleagues were spared discipline for serious misconduct while she was labeled a racist and pushed out.
CBS has had a contentious past connected to racially motivated practices.
The lawsuit goes on to reference a past report alleging that former CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews promoted minority employees while pushing white journalists to the sidelines. Ciprian-Matthews allegedly became the focus of a six-month internal investigation by Paramount Global’s human resources department over claims of biased hiring and workplace practices. She has since stepped down from her role as CBS News President.
Paramount itself quietly scrapped its DEI programs earlier this year after mounting public backlash and regulatory pressure from the Trump administration.
She is seeking damages for lost wages and harm to her reputation, claiming she has been financially and professionally devastated after more than 20 years dedicated to Boston’s breaking news.