Former KCAL-TV news anchor Jeff Vaughn has gone after the California television station with a discrimination lawsuit.
According to Variety, Vaughn, who also worked at KCBS, is seeking $5 million in damages, alleging that his termination was due to him being a white man. Vaughn worked for both news programs KCAL and KCBS for eight years, but after his termination last September, the 58-year-old now claims that he was never given a reason for the dismissal.
Vaughn is being represented by America First Legal, a radical conservative legal group with a mission against what it describes as the "radical left’s anti-jobs, anti-freedom, anti-faith, anti-borders, anti-police, and anti-American crusade."
The suit alleges that "it was obvious" why Vaughn was released last year.
"He was fired because he is an older, white, heterosexual, male," it reads.
The document also mentions Wendy McMahon, the CEO of CBS News, who uplifts DEI initiatives within the company for women and people of color "on both sides of the camera and in leadership positions."
Ahead of his termination in 2023, Vaughn claims that he was intentionally left out of 9/11 anniversary coverage, with a billboard and commercial that included "racial or gender minorities." Around the same time, replacements for Vaughn auditioned at the station, all allegedly being "younger, racial minorities." The stations landed on Chauncy Glover, a former Houston ABC affiliate, who is Black. The lawsuit alleges Glover had "minimal" experience, despite his career working in news since 2007.
Vaughn alleges that the KCAL news team pressured him to announce his departure on-air, claiming that the decision to leave was on his own terms, which he refused. The team would later make the announcement live on-air, claiming that Vaughn "didn't want to make a big fuss about leaving."
Seeking $5 million in damages, in addition to attorney fees and other relief, it's uncertain whether Vaughn has a solid case on his hands. The last discrimination claim made against KCAL and KCBS over a decade ago was unsuccessful. In 2012, former meteorologist Kyle Hunter alleged that the stations refused to hire him and prioritized "younger attractive females." CBS argued using the First Amendment and Hunter's complaint was dismissed.
