Samira Said, a former ABC News field producer who accused Matt Gutman of sexual harassment in a wrongful termination lawsuit earlier this month, has moved to have his name removed from the suit.
In documents filed Friday, which were obtained and viewed by TheWrap, Said’s attorneys sought to dismiss Gutman and David Herndon, ABC News’ former executive director and Los Angeles bureau chief, from the case without prejudice.
“Plaintiff agrees to dismiss the Individual Defendants and all claims against them without prejudice,” the Friday filing stated. “Whereas, in exchange for the dismissal of all claims against the Individual Defendants, ABC agrees to use reasonable efforts to make the Individual Defendants available for properly noticed depositions, and to the extent they remain within ABC’s control, to facilitate their appearance at trial upon service of valid trial subpoenas.”
The document added: “Plaintiff shall not be questioned at deposition or trial about her decision to name the Individual Defendants in the lawsuit and why she dismissed those individuals. This provision, however, does not preclude Defendants from seeking discovery from Plaintiff concerning matters involving the Individual Defendants that are relevant to the allegations in the Complaint or to any claim, defense or damages at issue in this case.”
This update comes three weeks after Said named Gutman, ABC and The Walt Disney Company, along with up to 100 Does, in a lawsuit alleging discrimination in violation of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, hostile work environment and harassment, retaliation, failure to provide reasonable accommodation, wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other allegations.
The original filing accused Gutman, who was notably with ABC News for almost 20 years before departing for CBS in 2026, of allegedly creating a hostile work environment by making inappropriate sexual remarks while they were working.
“During her employment, Said was placed on a male-only team including on-air correspondent Matt Gutman and two additional male crew members,” the original filing stated. “While the team waited in a public queue during the assignment, Gutman initiated a discussion rating a female correspondent’s appearance and reducing her professional standing to a numerical score based on her physical attributes.”
The filing continued: “The male crew joined in, continuing to assess the woman’s body and looks in Said’s presence. The men attempted to draw Said into the conversation by soliciting her views. Said declined and stated the conversation was inappropriate.”
Said also recalled in the lawsuit a tense conversation with Gutman, which allegedly resulted in the journalist “making a sexualized insinuation” about her personal life.
“On another occasion, during a press day related to a film release, Said and Gutman disagreed about whether the team should leave the work site,” the document noted. “In front of multiple coworkers, Gutman responded by making a sexualized insinuation that Said must have an after-hours date in the city and that this is why she did not want to relocate.”
At the time, Said’s legal team argued that the remark “made audibly to others,” had “demeaned [her] and reduced her professional judgment to a sexualized stereotype.”
Representatives for ABC News and CBS News did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
While Gutman and Herndon are to be removed as defendants, Said’s case against ABC and Disney continues, with the ex-staffer previously alleging that she was wrongfully terminated from ABC News in 2025 after a struggle with her mental health.
Said’s suit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees.
