“SEAL Team” freelance writer and script coordinator Brian Beneker has sued CBS and its parent company Paramount Global, accusing them of racially discriminating against white, heterosexual men.
In a legal document filed in California federal court on Thursday and obtained by TheWrap, Beneker said he filed the lawsuit because the companies “repeatedly” discriminated against him by “refusing to hire him and extend him employment opportunities based on his race, gender, and sexual orientation in favor of less qualified applicants who were members of privileged groups.”
Beneker, who describes himself as “a white, heterosexual male,” explained that he had been writing episodes for “SEAL Team” and was turned down for a writing position on the show at a time when there were plenty of jobs available. The lawsuit goes on to say that CBS and Paramount hired and promoted “preferred” writers who were “non-white,” “LGBTQ,” or “female,” despite lacking “writing experience and track records.”
Beneker is represented by the conservative legal fund America First, founded by Donald Trump speechwriter Stephen Miller.
Beneker was hired as a script coordinator for “SEAL Team” in March 2017 and was asked to write an episode as a freelance writer during the second season. He said showrunner John Glenn asked him to step down as a script coordinator to write a freelance script, eventually ending up on Season 2, Episode 14, “What Appears to Be.” He went on to write additional scripts for the show.
In 2019, Beneker said he questioned why a black writer was given the writing job instead of him, with Glenn allegedly saying CBS was hiring a person of color to fill a racial quota when hiring writers. He said he was told he did not check “any diversity boxes” as a straight, white man. Over the course of the next two years, Beneker said CBS hired six female writers, two black writers, and one who identifies as lesbian.
Beneker said CBS “created a situation where white, heterosexual men needed ‘additional’ qualifications (including military experience or previous writing credits) to be hired as writers compared to their non-white, LGBTQ, or female counterparts who did not require such ‘additional’ qualifications.”
Beneker is seeking $500,000 in damages for meaningful loss of wages, including “deferred wages,” “future deferred wages,” loss of benefits, and anticipated raises under his union contract. He also wants a court order to make him a full-time producer on the series and to end the meaningful discriminatory practices.
It’s unclear how this will be put into practice, as “SEAL Team” will end its run after Season 7 on Paramount+, where it moved last season after previously airing on CBS.
