Paramount to end DEI hiring and quota practices after writer sues for being told he doesn’t ‘check any diversity boxes’

Blaze–

CBS’ president had reportedly stated he wanted half of network writers to be ‘non-white.’

Paramount Global has reportedly agreed to terminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which have included racial quotas for staff and writers.

Along with its subsidiary CBS, Paramount was sued by America First Legal on behalf of script supervisor Brian Beneker, who worked on the show “SEAL Team,” a Paramount+ original series.

A lawsuit in February alleged that the companies engaged in discriminatory practices that were in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Beneker claimed that Paramount and CBS implemented racial quotas for writers’ rooms. This claim was supplemented by public statements from George Cheeks, then-president and CEO of CBS, who said that he had set a goal for CBS’ writing rooms to have 40% non-white staff members. A reported 17 of 21 shows on the network met or exceeded the target, which was subsequently followed by a demand that “half of all writers will be non-white” by “the 2022-2023 broadcast season.”

Cheeks was touted in public reports as CBS’ first black, biracial, and gay president. more