Paramount Global is currently under legal scrutiny after a former executive alleged that the company engaged in discriminatory practices based on age and race. Joseph E. Jerome, who held a longstanding position as an attorney for the popular show Entertainment Tonight, has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Paramount of firing him at the age of 58 due to his race and age, only to replace him with a significantly younger, Black employee.
Jerome’s lawsuit, filed on October 31, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, contends that his termination was part of a broader pattern wherein older, white employees were systematically replaced by younger staff members from diverse racial backgrounds. He claims this practice was driven by internal directives to improve show demographics, allegedly voiced during a November 2023 meeting aimed at addressing the show’s “older demographics” viewer base. According to Jerome, he was criticized repeatedly for being “old” and for his resistance to these demographic changes.
The former executive worked at Paramount for approximately thirty years and argued in his suit that the company’s compensation and promotion policies for executives were tied directly to achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) objectives. More specifically, he alleged that one of the department goals was to increase female and ethnically diverse representation in leadership roles, which he believes resulted in discriminatory employment decisions.
Jerome further detailed that his role was given to a 25-year-old recent law school graduate who is Black, underscoring his claim that Paramount valued diversity targets over experience and merit. This case arises amid a broader national conversation about DEI initiatives, with some corporations scaling back diversity programs due to political pressures, including executive orders aimed at “restoring merit-based opportunity” following the Trump administration’s intervention.
Paramount has yet to issue an official statement regarding the lawsuit, which adds to ongoing debates about the balance between fostering diversity in the workplace and ensuring fairness to all employees regardless of age or race.
This lawsuit follows a similar case in April 2025 involving CBS Studios, which settled with a former employee who alleged discrimination against straight white men due to diversity quotas. These cases highlight the legal complexities companies face as they navigate their commitments to diversity goals while respecting anti-discrimination laws.
As the Paramount lawsuit proceeds, it underscores the challenges and controversies entwined with modern workplace inclusion efforts, particularly in the entertainment industry where representation both on-screen and behind the scenes remains a highly sensitive topic.
