Overview
- John Lowe filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday, June 17, in California court saying he faced a writers’ room “permeated by sexually explicit and discriminatory conduct” and that he was fired in retaliation after reporting an offensive Juneteenth remark.
- The complaint cites specific incidents it calls racist or sexualized, including an alleged Juneteenth slur by the showrunner, repeated comments about Lowe’s body and sex life, and an episode in which Lowe says he was coerced to keep the showrunner’s dog.
- The suit names CBS Television Studios, showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman and executive producers Nicki Renna and Jeffrey Lieber and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for hostile work environment and failure to prevent harassment.
- CBS issued a statement saying it completed an internal investigation that did not substantiate Lowe’s claims and that it will vigorously defend the lawsuit, and the production already faces prior legal controversy after actor David Del Rio’s 2025 firing and subsequent arbitration.
- Because Matlock is a top-rated CBS series, the case could prompt deeper scrutiny of the studio’s internal probes and workplace safeguards and observers will watch for discovery, depositions or corporate responses that clarify what the studio knew and when.