CBS Defends Diversity Hiring on ‘SEAL Team’ From ‘Anti-White Discrimination’ Suit

variety.com:

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer CBS filed a motion Thursday to throw out a lawsuit challenging its diversity hiring practices for writers on the show “SEAL Team,” arguing that it has a First Amendment right to hire who it wants.

Brian Beneker, the longtime script coordinator on the show, sued in February, arguing that he had been repeatedly passed over for writing jobs because he is a straight, white man.

Beneker has the backing of America First Legal, which is run by Stephen Miller, an adviser to former President Trump. The organization has sought to challenge diversity, equity and inclusion programs — which it terms “anti-white discrimination” — in the entertainment industry and elsewhere in corporate America.

In its motion, CBS argued that it has a constitutional right to decide who will speak on its behalf, which supersedes anti-discrimination law. “CBS’s alleged decision to prioritize diversity in its writers’ rooms is protected by the First Amendment because — as Beneker’s complaint recognizes — who writes for a creative production like ‘SEAL Team’ affects the stories that ‘SEAL Team’ tells,” wrote Molly Lens, a partner at O’Melveny & Myers. “So limiting CBS’s ability to select the writers of its choice — as Beneker seeks to do here — unconstitutionally impairs CBS’s ability to shape its message.” In a similar case, Disney argued last month that it had a First Amendment right to fire “Mandalorian” actor Gina Carano after she made a post on social media that allegedly trivialized the Holocaust.