Former WBZ morning news anchor Kate Merrill has filed a $4 million lawsuit against the Boston-based station, its parent companies CBS and Paramount, and several individuals, claiming she was wrongfully demoted and discriminated against for being white and a woman.
Merrill, who joined WBZ in 2004 and remained at the station until her resignation in 2024, alleges in the suit that she was accused of “microaggressions” and unconscious bias toward two newly hired Black colleagues. She contends that those accusations led to a public demotion and the eventual collapse of her career.
According to the lawsuit, Merrill was reassigned from her weekday morning anchor position to weekend night shifts in May 2024—a move she describes as career-ending. She says her manager, Justin Draper, celebrated the demotion publicly and “acted with malice and ill will,” while never treating demotions of male colleagues the same way.
The legal filing also denies that Merrill’s actions were motivated by any racism, implicit or overt. Central to the suit is her relationship with meteorologist Jason Mikell, a Black colleague who joined WBZ in 2023. The lawsuit claims the two had a positive working relationship, citing a message from Mikell in January 2024 thanking Merrill for her support during his transition to the show.
However, tensions reportedly arose in April 2024 when Merrill corrected Mikell’s pronunciation of “Concord” during an off-air conversation. Mikell allegedly responded by shouting at her and later filed a complaint accusing Merrill of racial bias. Merrill claims she also reported the incident to human resources, but the company instead launched an investigation into her conduct.
The lawsuit also references a 2020 reckoning within CBS regarding a lack of diversity in its newsrooms. According to the filing, WBZ was singled out for having the “least diverse station for on-air talent,” and executives pushed for increased representation. Merrill alleges that this led to on-air roles being given to less-experienced anchors of color, including Courtney Cole, another Black anchor named in the suit.
Merrill also disputes accusations that she made inappropriate remarks to Mikell and Cole. One example cited in the complaint is her alleged comment to Mikell that he would “find his people,” and her suggestion to Cole that she consider advancing her career in Nashville—a comment Cole reportedly interpreted as racially loaded, but which Merrill claims was about opportunity.
The lawsuit argues that Merrill was unfairly targeted and treated differently due to her race and gender, leading to her demotion, resignation, and a non-compete clause that kept her off-air until June 2025.
WBZ and CBS have not publicly commented on the lawsuit.
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