A former script supervisor for SEAL Team has launched a lawsuit at CBS for allegedly not giving him a staff writer position because he’s a white and male. Brian Beneker is seeking $500,000 in damages as he publicly rails against “diversity, equity and inclusion measures,” which he calls “illegal policy.”
To the surprise of no one, Beneker’s lawsuit is being backed by former Trump administration toadie Stephen Miller, who has a well-documented history of backing controversial moves like separating families at the border and pushing Donald Trump to take an aggressive stance against Black Lives Matter protestors. (For more flavor, Miller also thinks Taylor Swift is a deep state plant propelled by “dark forces.”)
Via Deadline:
Beneker, who has worked on SEAL Team since 2017 and before that was a script coordinator on Sons of Anarchy, claims in 2019 that he questioned current showrunner Spencer Hudnut over why previous showrunner John Glenn had hired a new male writer when Glenn claimed at the time that “there were already too many staff writers and there was no room for CBS to hire [Beneker].”
“Hudnut indicated it was because he was Black,” the complaint says.
In his suit, Beneker alleges that he suffered by not being part of the “favored hiring groups; that is, they were nonwhite, LGBTQ, or female.” However, several of Beneker’s colleagues have already come forward to blast the spurious nature of his claims and basically call him a weirdo.
You can see some of the reactions below:
I worked with this guy in 2000–I was a writer, he was a script coordinator and a seriously odd duck THEN. He thinks never gotten a staff writer job in 24 years because he’s white??
It’s because he’s weird and the work’s not good. https://t.co/UUK1CKvfMp
— Jorge A. Reyes (@JorgeCoolReyes) March 5, 2024
stop telling white male writers there's no jobs for them because of diversity initiatives when the truth is they're simply not cutting the mustard and you don't wanna say that. it's insulting to all parties and also verifiably not what's happening in the industry https://t.co/bqhXsiPHnQ
— caitie delaney (@caitiedelaney) March 4, 2024
There’s a lot of genuinely hilarious stuff here, but seeking a court order to make you a full time producer on the show you’ve been script coordinating is truly incredible stuff. https://t.co/J9Korcudok
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) March 5, 2024
We knew this was coming. But let’s talk stats… 44% of WOC leave the entertainment industry after 10 years experience because they don’t hit a glass ceiling; it’s concrete. @Inclusionists stats show we are going backwards. Facts matter not feelings. https://t.co/m6E78OMhdI
— Cheryl (@Cheryl_CLBP) March 5, 2024
“The show that knew me, my work ethic, and my creative abilities better than any other show on Earth didn’t want to hire me so now I guess I’ll sue my way into a career.” https://t.co/2XH4dKW2Hy
— Jim Fagan (@JamesFagan) March 5, 2024
Deeply embarrassing on the script coordinator's part but everyone who uses "diversity" as an "easy" excuse for not hiring or promoting people are complicit here too. Diversity is way too often used as an excuse for not hiring or promoting someone you had no intention to hire. https://t.co/UHkxYDvV2M
— Brittany Van Horne (@_brittanyv) March 5, 2024
Guys. I’ve been a heterosexual white man script coordinator for a few years now. Why didn’t anyone tell me about suing studios and showrunners?!?!?!
— Zack Morrison (@ZackMorrison18) March 5, 2024
UCLA releases a diversity report every single year. Anyone can google it. White men are the majority of writers in HW. They make up the majority of writers rooms. This is not an opinion. This is a fact. You lose jobs to each other. To other white people. https://t.co/VfH1mUPE9J
— Dani Fernandez (@msdanifernandez) March 5, 2024
(Via Deadline)
