Erik Voake/CBS via Getty Images
A lawsuit filed by a SEAL Team script coordinator and freelancer who claims he was denied a writing job because he is a straight white man has already gained traction among other screenwriters.
“That means they weren't white, LGBTQ or female.” He also pointed out the “illegal politics” of diversity, equity and inclusion measures.
Beneker, who has worked on SEAL Team since 2017 and was previously a script coordinator on Sons of Anarchy, claimed in 2019 that he questioned current showrunner Spencer Hudnut about why previous showrunner John Glenn had hired a new male writer when Glenn did claimed that “there were already too many staff writers and there was no place for CBS to hire.” [Beneker].”
“Hudnut stated that it was because he was Black,” the complaint states.
While continuing his work as script coordinator, Beneker wrote three episodes of the David Boreanaz-led series in 2019. Another is reportedly set to air as the eighth episode of the show's upcoming seventh and final season. His lawsuit is supported by former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller's nonprofit America First Legal Foundation.
Many writers called out Beneker's bluff, either citing UCLA's annual Hollywood Diversity Report or highlighting his past accomplishments.
“I worked with this guy in 2000 – I was a writer, he was a script coordinator and a really strange duck back then,” wrote Jorge A. Reyes (“Queen of the South”) on X. “He thinks he'll never get a staff job “author” in 24 years because he is white? …. To avoid facing this truth, he is now allying himself with Trump's information secretary in a bullshit crybaby lawsuit whose only real purpose is to crack down on still-underrepresented groups who still have a historically low number of available jobs hold here.”
“As a woman of color, I know that a lot of people see me and automatically think I’m not qualified for the job. until I can prove otherwise.” wrote Helen Shang (13 reasons why). “You are not the standard. We doubt you. So justify yourself. It is the boulder that I and others must continue to push.”
Adds the founder of The Black List Franklin Leonard, “There's a lot of really weird stuff here, but to seek a court order that makes you a full-time producer on the show that you scripted is truly incredible.”
Beneker is reportedly seeking $500,000 in lost wages and “an injunction requiring defendants to offer Plaintiff a full-time job as a producer.” Click here to read Beneker's discrimination lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in California became.
Here is a selection of other X posts from Hollywood writers/staff:
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The Seal Team lawsuit reads like a series of “Mad Libs”…which is ironic because he's mad at Libs.
— Myles Warden (@ReallyMighty) March 4, 2024
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Guys. I've been a script coordinator for straight white men for several years. Why didn't anyone tell me about suing studios and showrunners?!?!?!
— Zack Morrison (@ZackMorrison18) March 5, 2024
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We knew this was coming. But let's talk stats… 44% of WOC leave the entertainment industry after 10 years of experience because they don't hit a glass ceiling; it is concrete. @Inclusionists Statistics show that we are going backwards. Facts count, not feelings. https://t.co/m6E78OMhdI
– Cheryl (@Cheryl_CLBP) March 5, 2024
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Stop telling white male writers that there aren't jobs for them because of diversity initiatives when the truth is that they just can't do it and that's not what you're trying to say. It's an insult to all parties and demonstrably not what's happening in the industry https://t.co/bqhXsiPHnQ
– Caitie Delaney (@caitiedelaney) March 4, 2024
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I think something we need to remember about this SEAL Team script coordinator is that he has been a script coordinator since 2008 and may have lost his mind. No one should have to track changes and be available 24/7 for 16 years. Your mind will turn to jelly
— Danielle Weisberg for hire (@danielleweisber) March 5, 2024
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I don't know anything about the details of this situation. Apparently there's a showrunner out there who should be able to clear up how it went down pretty quickly. But one thing I know about qualifications is that I've hired writers before…
https://t.co/GC4Xkea0Ue via @thr
— Brandon Margolis (@BrandonMargolis) March 5, 2024
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Regardless of your opinion on the individual writer suing CBS/Paramount, I think we should generally normalize writers suing and shaming companies that violate labor laws, not the other way around.
– Van (@VanTheBrand) March 5, 2024
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It's deeply embarrassing for the script coordinator, but anyone who uses “diversity” as an “easy” excuse for not hiring or promoting people is complicit here too. Too often, diversity is used as an excuse not to hire or promote someone you didn't want to hire in the first place. https://t.co/UHkxYDvV2M
— Brittany Van Horne (@_brittanyv) March 5, 2024
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Script coordinator was a broken job for a long time. Wages are low for the skill level (I think $25 an hour) and a trade-off between deadline expectations and the opportunity for advancement that comes with it, which is becoming increasingly rare. In contrast, script supervisors earn at least $40 per hour.
— Brenden Gallagher (@brendengallager) March 5, 2024
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UCLA releases a diversity report every year. Anyone can google it. White men are the majority of authors in HW. They make up the majority of the writers' rooms. This is not an opinion. That is a fact. They lose each other's jobs. To other white people. https://t.co/VfH1mUPE9J
— Dani Fernandez (@msdanifernandez) March 5, 2024
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“The show that knew me, my work ethic and my creative abilities better than any other show in the world didn't want to hire me, so now I guess I'll just have to fight my way to a career.” https://t.co/ 2XH4dKW2Hy
– Jim Fagan (@JamesFagan) March 5, 2024
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As a black person, you are never truly alone because there is always a white person blaming you for the jobs they can't get. pic.twitter.com/F0VjcNrlQe
— blk fem Aaron Sorkin has art to create (@uhdresejwrites) March 4, 2024
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The man suing CBS is also demanding that they make him producer.
If that isn't PEAK WHITENESS I don't know what the hell else is LMAO
(Someone please find a writing sample of his, lol) pic.twitter.com/PBP7LnPjUC
– Kellee Terrell (@kelleent) March 5, 2024