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Departed WBZ anchor Kate Merrill sues former employer, claims she was discriminated against for being white

Kate Merrill says in the lawsuit that she was accused of microaggressions and unconscious bias against two Black colleagues. She denies any wrongdoing.

Kate Merrill in 2019. Leise Jones Photography

August 6, 2025

4 minutes to read

A WBZ morning anchor who abruptly left the station last year is suing for $4 million, claiming she was discriminated against on the basis of her gender and her race, according to new court filings.

Kate Merrill, a white woman, began as a reporter for WBZ in 2004 and co-anchored the morning and noon news from 2017 until her departure in June of 2024, according to the lawsuit, which was first reported on by Universal Hub. The departure of her co-anchor, Liam Martin, months prior also made headlines.

Merrill filed a federal lawsuit in Boston Tuesday against the station, parent companies CBS and Paramount, two former colleagues, her superior Justin Draper, and Michael Roderick, who, according to the suit, investigated complaints of discrimination at WBZ.

After Merrill was accused of microaggressions and unconscious bias against two recently hired Black colleagues, the longtime anchor was demoted from the weekday morning show to working weekend nights in May of 2024, according to the lawsuit.

“Draper unnecessarily broadly announced Ms. Merrill’s demotion, humiliating her. In so doing, Defendant Draper acted with malice and ill will,” the lawsuit said. “Draper had not similarly broadly announced the demotions of any male anchors at WBZ.”

The demotion was “career ending,” the lawsuit alleges, and Merrill submitted a constructive discharge resignation on May 24, 2024. Due to a non-competitive provision in her contract, Merrill was unable to work in her field until June 1, 2025.

Merrill denies that any of her actions “were described or motivated by overt racism or unconscious bias,” according to the lawsuit.

WBZ did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday night.

Lawsuit: Colleague aggressively confronted Merrill, made sexual innuendo

The lawsuit focuses on Merrill’s working relationship with Jason Mikell, a meteorologist who is Black. Mikell was hired in September of 2023 to replace a white meteorologist who, according to the suit, was fired despite having “never been warned about any performance deficiencies.” Merrill and Mikell’s relationship was at first warm and friendly, the lawsuit says, and he asked Merrill to help him with local pronunciations.

“Kate, as I mentioned a short time ago to Liam, I truly appreciate the kindness, helpfulness, and openness during this transition to the show. I care about each of you and certainly the show and its performance,” Mikell apparently said in January of 2024, according to screenshots of text messages included in the lawsuit.

Mikell allegedly made an inappropriate sexual innuendo on air in February of 2024, implying Merrill “and her co-anchor had sexual relations at a gazebo,” according to the lawsuit. The news director allegedly did nothing about the remark.

After Merrill privately corrected Mikell’s on-air pronunciation of “Concord,” Mikell allegedly “immediately confronted Ms. Merrill, loudly yelling at her on the studio floor and asserting that she was being critical of him” in April 2024, the lawsuit said. “His tone was aggressive and unprofessional. Ms. Merrill immediately lodged a complaint with WBZ’s Human Resources department.”

Screenshots of text messages purportedly between two colleagues present during the confrontation were included in the lawsuit. One colleague called Mikkell “unprofessional” and “aggressive.”

“I was like is he really starting an argument in front of everyone – mic’d up – to someone who like has been here forever,” the colleague wrote, referring to Merrill. “I was flabbergasted.”

“And like dude don’t take it personal we just need to get town names right bottom line,” the other replied.

‘CBS has a white problem’

Merrill says that CBS responded quickly to calls for more diversity in 2020, including after a former CBS executive wrote in Variety that “CBS has a white problem.” CBS’s head of East Coast stations, including WBZ, repeatedly said that WBZ was “too white,” “the least diverse station for on air talent,” and the “whitest of all their stations,” or words to that effect, according to the lawsuit.

Courtney Cole, a Black anchor named as a defendant in the lawsuit, was hired in 2022, the lawsuit alleges, to replace a white man who was demoted. The news director, who had also recently been replaced, also allegedly told Merrill that her show was not diverse enough and had Cole substitute on the show over a more experienced white anchor, according to the lawsuit.

“Ms. Merrill became concerned that WBZ was not providing sufficient support to her less experienced and recently hired colleagues, a number of whom were persons of color,” the lawsuit read.

Merrill accused of racist remarks

A week after making her HR complaint, Merrill was informed that she was being investigated after simultaneous allegations from Cole and Mikell “that she treated coworkers differently because of their race.”

The allegations of racism include Merrill telling Mikell that he would “find his people” in Boston and that she was “always” critical of him, did not ask him about his weekends, and said he could be a garbage collector during “dirty job” banter about his jobs segment, according to the lawsuit.

Cole alleged that Merrill recommended she go to Nashville, where Merrill used to work, to be the main anchor there, which “Cole apparently interpreted as a suggestion that she go to Nashville because it would be a better racial fit for Defendant Cole (who is Black) rather than a comment about career opportunities and how much she (Ms. Merrill) enjoyed Nashville.”

Merrill defended her statements, saying that “all my garbage collectors are white” and that Nashville is not a majority-minority city.

The lawsuit is claiming unlawful discrimination, failure to adequately investigate her complaints, defamation, tortious interference with advantageous relations, and untimely payment of wages.

“For more than 20 years, Ms. Merrill worked closely, virtually daily, with colleagues regardless of race (or any other protected category). She opened the doors to her home to and befriended colleagues, regardless of race (or any protected category), and mentored any person – regardless of race (or any protected category) – who reached out and asked for her assistance trying to establish themselves in broadcast news,” the lawsuit said. “Ms. Merrill intentionally advocated for and produced hundreds of segments highlighting many of the significant contributions persons of color make in local communities.”