Bill Schultz files lawsuit over DEI policy claim

Al Roker

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Al Roker and his production banner were sued by Bill Schultz, the former executive producer of an animated children's television series in development. Schultz (The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Garfield) claims he was fired because he objected to the company's failure to follow a diversity initiative aimed at bringing minority writers to PBS television productions.

The lawsuit, filed in New York federal court on Tuesday, alleges that executives at Al Roker Entertainment “callously ignored” a diversity, equity and inclusion program, known as DEI, mandated by PBS, which covers the bulk of the animated series' production expenses. Weather huntersby trying to persuade black writers to edit texts written by white writers to give the appearance of a diverse writers' room.

In Hollywood, some view DEI as particularly important in efforts to promote diversity, both on and behind the screen. However, these programs have attracted legal scrutiny by plaintiffs who say the companies are not properly implementing the initiatives, and more recently, by others who claim they discriminate against disfavored groups, especially in the wake of a Supreme Court opinion that struck down affirmative action. an act. In March, CBS Studios was sued for allegedly implementing diversity quotas that discriminate against white straight men. Some companies have moved away from explicitly naming racial groups in DEI, preferring instead to say “underrepresented groups.”

According to Tuesday's complaint. Weather hunters It has a unique ownership structure in which the majority of the show's production costs are covered by PBS, while Al Roker Entertainment retains full ownership of the series. PBS provided 70 percent of the project's funding for 40 half-hour episodes on the condition that it adhere to the DEI plan.

Efforts to promote diversity were particularly vital to PBS given that, the lawsuit says Weather huntersThe target demographic was black families. But Schultz claims that Al Roker Entertainment executives, who were allegedly given “full authority” to run the series by Roker, “treated the DEI policy as discretionary and an obstacle to be circumvented.”

Schultz received notice that he was in breach of his contract for staffing-related failures, among other things, shortly after an August 2023 meeting in which the show's story editor stated he “could not adhere to the production schedule if BIPOC writers were used.” “to write the stories” and that he “would need to hire experienced non-BIPOC writers,” the lawsuit claims.

“Instead of giving opportunities to BIPOC writers as was the plan, the story editor, repeating a strategy previously advocated and supported in writing by Al Roker Entertainment management, wanted “non-BIPOC” writers to write the stories, then bring them to the “BIPOC” writer and post the stories/episodes. [were] Shaped, it can be “hand”.[ed] “To BIPOC writers,” the complaint states.

A month after the meeting, a Black producer critical of the implementation of the DEI policy was reprimanded, the lawsuit alleges. Schultz was suspended and then terminated around the same time. He faults management at Al Roker Entertainment for refusing to see DEI as a requirement but rather “a box that needs to be checked in the quickest way possible” and “an obstacle to business as usual.”

Schultz, a former Carton Networks and Marvel Studios executive who has worked on the series since 2014 and was paid $544,000 for the initial 40-episode order plus a portion of the net proceeds (25 percent with some discounts and rebates), says he told Rucker he refused. His production banner properly followed PBS's DEI policy but did not address the issue by reprimanding the alleged executives.

The complaint alleges violations of New York's Human Rights Law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, as well as breach of contract and negligence, among other matters.

Roker and Al Roker Entertainment did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“I've put nine years of my career into it Weather hunters“It's a project I believe in very strongly, with the goal of creating a great show for kids to enjoy and learn from,” Schultz, who is represented by attorneys at Frost LLP, said in a statement. “I also believed, and continue to believe, that the project benefited from creating opportunities for critical ‘new voices’ in storytelling and that Weather hunters The production needs to live up to the ideals it was meant to represent.