With the countdown on for David Ellison and Skydance’s takeover of Paramount ticking, the behind-the-scenes battle over SEAL Group and the facility of inclusion insurance policies at CBS has come to an finish.
A federal decide has simply permitted a joint request from CBS Studios and former SEAL Group script coordinator Brian Beneker to dismiss the year-old case. White man Beneker sued in February 2024 claiming he wasn’t given a everlasting gig on the David Boreanaz-led collection “attributable to his race, intercourse, and heterosexuality” and the “unlawful coverage” of range, fairness and inclusion measures. Although it had already been made public that SEAL Group was coming to an finish late in 2024, Beneker was wanting in his go well with to attain $500,000 in alleged misplaced wages, and “an injunction requiring Defendants to supply Plaintiff a full-time job as a producer.”
Now U.S. District Decide Anne Hwang has supplied the final phrase on SEAL Group, which noticed its final episode air on Paramount+ on October 6 final yr.
“On April 18, 2025, Plaintiff Brian Beneker (“Plaintiff”) and Defendants CBS Studios Inc. and Paramount World (“Defendants” and along with Plaintiff, the “Events”) filed a Joint Stipulation For Dismissal with Prejudice. Having thought of the Events’ Joint Stipulation for Dismissal with Prejudice, the recordsdata and data of this motion, and all different issues correctly submitted to the Courtroom, and good trigger showing therefor, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Events’ Joint Stipulation for Dismissal with Prejudice is GRANTED. This whole motion is dismissed with prejudice. Every get together shall bear their very own attorneys’ charges and prices,” in line with a two-page order, posted Monday by Decide Hwang on the Central District of California court docket docket.
First revealed late final week in court docket, the settlement ends the matter fully with either side seemingly choosing up their respective tabs.
Whereas particulars are confidential, it does appear that there was some payout to freelance author Beneker within the deal. That cost was not notably giant, I hear. Nevertheless, it additionally appears that there have been no rollbacks in CBS’ DEI insurance policies as part of the settlement. The latter being a definite element of the thrust of the conservative activist America First Authorized Basis-backed Beneker’s motion, together with snagging a full time writing and producing slot on the now shuttered SEAL Group.
To that, in a realpolitik Trump 2.0 setting the place varied media firms and platforms have rapidly stripped away inclusion measures they as soon as bragged about, or a minimum of whitewashed mentioned insurance policies, CBS Studios had no touch upon the settlement or the case at the moment when contacted by Deadline. Beneker’s foremost legal professional John W. Howard of San Diego handed our request on to his co-counsel’s on the AFLF. Nobody from the group based by Trump high aide Stephen Miller reached out to Deadline.
In some ways, regardless of the particulars of the settlement, it’s no actual shock CBS made a deal and walked away. Definitely the truth that CBS misplaced its bid final August earlier than Decide John F. Walter to have the case tossed out put pressure on the corporate even earlier than Trump received final November’s election and returned to workplace. Extra lately, as Shari Redstone goals to unload the as soon as mighty media big to the scion of Oracle boss Larry Ellison, Trump FCC chair Brendan Carr has been repeatedly doing his grasp’s bidding going after the one-time residence of Walter Cronkite.
Trump has sued CBS for $20 billion over an interview along with his rival Kamala Harris that aired on 60 Minutes final fall. As rumors of a settlement in that case swirl, the MAGA administration final week went after the community and the newsmagazine for segments on response in Greenland to Trump utterances of taking up the North Atlantic island nation and the gentle criticism Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had for the White Home in its April 13 present.
The Paramount and Skydance deal requires federal regulatory approval from the Carr-run FCC to go ahead. Whereas there’s little doubt that deal will get the nod, the Trump crew is making everybody bounce by way of hoops within the meantime.
