A former writer for the SEAL Team TV show said growing sentiment against DEI policies might have played a role in his recent settlement with CBS and Paramount.
Brian Beneker, who worked as a freelance writer on the CBS show, confirmed he reached a settlement more than a year after he filed a claim claiming he wasn’t given a permanent position because of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, policies.
‘I’m happy with the way it turned out,’ Beneker told DailyMail.com exclusively on Tuesday. ‘Ultimately, I wanted to work, and clearly hiring writers based on their work was no longer the way to go after these policies were implemented.
‘I was up against writers with zero experience who were promoted ahead of me based on their gender or their sexuality. Ultimately, the goal of the suit was to bring attention to that.’
In the lawsuit filed February 2024 in California federal court, Beneker claimed he was repeatedly passed over for staff writing jobs after the studio implemented an ‘illegal policy of race and sex balancing’ that promoted the hiring of less qualified staffers from certain groups who identify as ethnic, LGBTQ or women.
Beneker claimed a black LGBTQ woman ended up with the staff position. The writer, who is white, said the growing sentiment against DEI policies could’ve factored into the decision to settle his case.
‘I filed this a more than a year ago before Trump came into office, but did that influence the outcome,’ he told DailyMail.com. ‘I think it [the DEI policies] were political to begin with, which has obviously changed since President Trump took office.
‘There have been plenty of lawsuits filed after mine, so did the pressure cause it? I think it’s the combination of both.’
According to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, both sides asked to dismiss the case with prejudice, which means neither side can refile the claim. U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang granted the dismissal.
‘On April 18, 2025, Plaintiff Brian Beneker [“Plaintiff”] and Defendants CBS Studios Inc. and Paramount Global [“Defendants” and together with Plaintiff, the “Parties”] filed a Joint Stipulation For Dismissal with Prejudice,’ the judge wrote.
‘Having considered the Parties’ Joint Stipulation for Dismissal with Prejudice, the files and records of this action, and all other matters properly submitted to the Court, and good cause appearing therefor, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Parties’ Joint Stipulation for Dismissal with Prejudice is GRANTED.
‘This entire action is dismissed with prejudice. Each party shall bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to CBS for comment.
Beneker’s case garnered national attention after American First Legal Foundation — a conservative group founded by White House Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller — joined Beneker’s legal team from JW Howard Attorneys.
Beneker’s case was among others represented by the Foundation, including lawsuits against other major companies like Starbucks, Target, Disney and Morgan Stanley that allegedly had discriminatory hiring practices and quotas.
‘America First Legal is pleased to see Paramount Global and CBS publicly back off their DEI requirements and return to merit-based considerations,’ AFL senior counsel Nick Barry told DailyMail.com. ‘Diversity quotas that discriminate on the basis of race are unfair. Others in the entertainment industry should take note.’
Although SEAL Team was canceled at the end of 2024, Beneker was still working on the show when he filed the suit earlier that year. Beneker, who is white, said CBS and parent company Paramount owed him $500,000 in lost wages. He co-wrote scripts for four episodes of the show, including its season three finale ‘No Choice in Duty.’ Despite receiving praise for the quality of his work, he was repeatedly told he would be ‘next in line,’ according to court documents.
CBS instead hired others — black writers, women, including a lesbian, who often had no relevant experience or writing credits, according to the complaint. Showrunner Spencer Hudnut said those writers were hired because they ‘checked diversity boxes that Beneker did not,’ Beneker’s attorney claimed. The CBS settlement comes at a time when other major companies and corporations have scaled back their DEI programs amid pressure to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
Miller has slammed DEI policies and called them ‘corporate bigotry’. He said Beneker’s case would help ‘excise the poison of race discrimination from American workplaces.’ The former show writer said he worked as a freelancer since 2017 and waited for his turn to join the crew as a staff writer. The last straw, however, came after an assistant who allegedly had no writing credits or experience was promoted to a writing staff position over him.
