Writers Sound Off About Litigious ‘SEAL Team’ Staffer Who Claims He Lost Gig Because He Was White & Male
deadline.comA lawsuit filed by a SEAL Team script coordinator and freelancer who claims he was denied a writing position because he’s a straight white guy has already struck a chord with fellow scribes.
Many took to X to express their frustration with freelance scribe Brian Beneker, who says in the complaint that he suffered by not being part of “the favored hiring groups; that is, they were nonwhite, LGBTQ, or female.” He also called out the “illegal policy” of diversity, equity and inclusion measures.
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.
While continuing his job as script coordinator, Beneker wrote three episodes of the David Boreanaz-led series in 2019. He has another one supposedly set to air as the eighth episode of the series’ upcoming seventh and final season.
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