CBS News chief reporter Matt Gutman is facing renewed scrutiny over his broadcasting record after a former colleague filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.
Gutman, 48, was hailed for his “fearlessness, energy and relentlessness” when CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss announced his hiring in December, one of her first major moves after taking the helm.
His arrival at CBS ended a 17-year run at ABC News, including seven years as the network’s chief national correspondent.
At the time of the move, multiple sources told Our News Outlet that Gutman had long been known in media circles for on-air mistakes.
One of the most prominent came in 2020, when he apologized after incorrectly reporting that all four of Kobe Bryant’s children had died alongside the NBA legend in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. In fact, only Bryant’s daughter was among the victims.
ABC News suspended Gutman for one month after the false report.
“Reporting the facts accurately is the cornerstone of our journalism,” an ABC spokesperson said at the time, adding that “Matt Gutman’s initial reporting was not accurate and failed to meet our editorial standards.”
Gutman apologized publicly on air and later said the mistake happened while he was experiencing a panic attack, a struggle he wrote about in his 2023 book on anxiety.
CBS News Chief Correspondent Matt Gutman, 48, has a history of making mistakes and flubs on-air
In 2021, the journalist, then with ABC News, was forced to apologize for a false report that all four of the late Kobe Bryant’s children died with the athlete in a 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash, when only his daughter passed away
‘Today I inaccurately reported it was believed that four of Kobe Bryant’s children were on board that flight. That is incorrect. I apologize to Kobe’s family, friends and our viewers,’ he wrote on X as well.
Gutman’s second suspension came when he found himself in hot water in February 2021 for flouting Disney’s COVID-19 policies by visiting a Los Angeles hospital without ABC News execs’ permission to vet a story.
The exact duration of the suspension was never disclosed. ABC News did not issue a statement.
More recently, before he left for CBS, he faced criticism for describing text messages between alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson and his transgender roommate as ‘very touching in a way we did not expect.’
After a furious social-media reaction, Gutman apologized, writing on X: ‘I deeply regret that my words did not make that clear.’
He was hired by CBS News within three months, though sources told the Mail ABC let him go without much of a fight at the time.
‘Matt’s contract was already up,’ they said, explaining that executives at ABC were fully aware of an offer made to Gutman but did not try to counter it.
The revelation came in marked contrast to reports of Weiss relentlessly pursuing top talent from other networks for her still-ongoing CBS News revamp.
More recently, before he left for CBS, he faced criticism for describing text messages between alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson and his transgender roommate as ‘very touching in a way we did not expect.’ He was forced to apologize again shortly after
Bari Weiss, 42, brought on Matt Gutman as one of her first moves as CBS News editor-in-chief less than a year ago, hailing him for his ‘fearlessness, energy and relentlessness’
The right-leaning Free Press founder was appointed by then-new Paramount CEO David Ellison in October, following an $8 billion acquisition the summer before.
The effort, instead of yielding a big name like Bret Baier or Anderson Cooper, ended up showing Weiss’s inexperience, another insider told Our News Outlet at the time.
‘Bari seems to be scraping the depths of her rolodex with her recent hire of Gutman, whom ABC exiled after his despicable comments in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and who erroneously reported misinformation on Kobe Bryant’s children during a tragedy. That’s what he’s best known for,’ the source said.
Weiss also ended up promoting Tony Dokoupil from CBS Mornings to CBS Evening News, when an effort to hire externally failed, Status first reported.
Gutman recently stood in for a struggling Dokoupil while the latter took two weeks off for the summer. The show enjoyed a brief ratings spike.
Last Friday, Gutman was named as a defendant in a wrongful termination suit filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court by former ABC News field producer Samira Said. Disney, ABC’s parent company, and the network are also listed as defendants.
Said claimed she was placed on a male-only team that included Gutman during an assignment, where Gutman ‘initiated a discussion rating a female correspondent’s appearance.’
He proceeded to ‘reduce her professional standing to a numerical score based on her physical attributes’ as other male members of the crew joined in, Said said.
Last Friday, Gutman was named as a defendant in a wrongful termination suit filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court by former ABC News field producer Samira Said. Disney, ABC News’ parent company, and the network are also listed as defendants
Gutman recently stood in for a struggling Dokoupil while the latter took two weeks off for the summer. The show enjoyed a brief ratings spike as a result
The men allegedly ‘attempted’ to involve Said in the conversation, to which she declined on the basis that it was ‘inappropriate,’ according to the suit.
Gutman is also accused of making a ‘sexualized insinuation’ towards her on a separate occasion, where he asked her if she had an ‘after-hours date’ when she wanted to leave a movie press event.
Said said that Gutman made the remark ‘audibly to others’ and ‘demeaned’ her and ‘reduced her professional judgement to a sexualized stereotype.’
The suit also claimed that when Said returned from a medical leave, which lasted from August 2022 to January 2023, ABC denied her reasonable accommodation requests.
ABC News’ LA bureau chief, David Herndon, also ‘made it clear that unless she returned without restrictions and with full-week availability, she would not be permitted to resume her role,’ according to the lawsuit.
Said was subsequently ‘demoted’ to weekend desk shifts in March 2023 and was fired in March 2025 after she ‘sustained a workplace injury when heavy equipment struck her foot, resulting in a bone contusion’ while covering ‘hazardous weather-related events.’
Said is seeking monetary damages and alleging discrimination based on ‘gender/sex; ancestry; and/or disability,’ hostile work environment harassment, retaliation for engaging in a protected activity, and failure to provide reasonable accommodation.
The Daily Mail approached ABC News for comment.
