Texts from TV anchor suing station over microaggressions revealed in lawsuit
A former Massachusetts TV anchor is suing the station she worked at after she says she was discriminated against for being white.
Kate Merrill filed the federal lawsuit against WBZ-TV, CBS, Paramount and several individuals who worked at the news station.
McClatchy News reached out for comment Aug. 7 but did not immediately hear back.
Merrill says in the lawsuit that she had worked at WBZ-TV since 2004 and in 2017 was promoted to co-anchor of the station’s morning and noon show. While working as an anchor in 2024, she was accused of being racist, discriminated against and demoted, she said in the civil complaint.
In September 2023, Jason Mikell, a Black meteorologist, was hired at the station, the lawsuit said.
Because Mikell was new to the area and less experienced, Merrill agreed to introduce him to some people and help him at work, the lawsuit said.
Merrill said in the lawsuit that she provided positive feedback and constructive criticism to Mikell but that ultimately he accused her of microaggressions and making inappropriate comments.
However, Merrill denies this and said after she corrected Mikell for pronouncing a city wrong, he confronted her aggressively, “loudly yelling at her on the studio floor and asserting that she was being critical of him,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit includes copies of text message conversations between Merrill and Mikell that start off supportive, as well as conversations between other co-workers discussing the incident.
After reporting the incident to the human relations department, Merrill learned that Mikell had already filed complaints accusing her of microaggressions, being critical of him and treating him differently than she did her white co-workers.
Another Black anchor and reporter at the station also complained about Merrill, accusing her of saying she should go work in Nashville because it would “be a better racial fit,” the complaint said.
Other allegations made against Merrill said she “rolled her eyes when talking to people of color and that she did not greet people of color when they entered a room,” the lawsuit said.
Merrill denied that any of her comments had racial undertones and in the lawsuit said she is not racist, has Black friends and included photos where she is pictured with them.
An investigation determined that “Merrill’s behavior was grounded in microaggressions or unconscious bias and created a very unwelcoming work Environment,” the complaint said.
However, Merrill said she was never given a copy of the report.
Merrill was given a written warning that required her to complete unconscious bias training, the lawsuit said. Then she was demoted from co-anchor of the weekend morning show to work weekend nights and was told the decision “had been in the works for some time,” according to the complaint.
Merrill was told by colleagues and union leaders that “WBZ/CBS/Paramount demoted Ms. Merrill to make an example of her, to attempt to make the point that CBS now took seriously complaints of racism allegedly perpetrated by White employees and was (is) not a racist organization,” the lawsuit said.
She was also told that her demotion was “career sabotage” and it would never recover, according to the complaint.
Merrill, believing the demotion and racism accusations would harm her career, gave her resignation notice May 24.
She maintained the demotion was motivated by other factors. The lawsuit listed several examples of white WBZ-TV and CBS employees who were replaced by non-white co-workers or new hires.
Merrill is suing for an amount to be determined at trial.
