Former 'Matlock' Writer Suing CBS for Misconduct and Wrongful Termination
John Lowe, who worked as an executive story editor on the CBS series Matlock from October 2023 until July 2025, has filed a lawsuit in California court alleging he was subjected to a racially hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and retaliatory firing.
The lawsuit names CBS, Matlock creator Jennie Snyder Urman, and writers Nicki Renna and Jeffrey Lieber as defendants. Lowe, who is Black, alleges the defendants "fostered a writers'-room environment permeated by sexually explicit and discriminatory conduct directed personally at" him.
CBS says it conducted a thorough investigation and found no support for the allegations. "We look forward to vigorously defending this lawsuit," the network said in a statement.
What Lowe Alleges Happened
The lawsuit lays out a series of specific incidents spanning nearly two years.
Early in his employment, Lowe alleges Snyder Urman and Lieber made comments about his shoe size, telling him it meant he was "well-endowed down there." He says the same people questioned his sexuality and asked him about "how he handled a man's genitals."
In 2024, Lowe alleges Snyder Urman brought a dog into the writers' room, placed it on his lap, and explained her children didn't want it because they didn't like its "aesthetic" — which Lowe says was a reference to the dog's black coloring. He alleges she then pressured him into caring for the dog for nearly a year, telling him "as long as you have this dog, you'll always have a place here." Lowe says he reasonably interpreted this as racially motivated conduct designed to single him out for humiliation.
He also points to comments allegedly made about Black cast member Eme Ikwuakor, claiming Renna said the actor "can barely read."
The most explosive allegation involves Juneteenth. In June 2025, Lowe says he asked whether the production would be observing the holiday, to which Snyder Urman allegedly responded using a racial slur, calling the holiday "coonteenth." Filming on Matlock wrapped that same month and Lowe was placed on hiatus. Thirteen days after the alleged Juneteenth incident, he says Snyder Urman verbally told him he was being terminated without notice.
Lowe's attorney Ron Zambrano didn't hold back in his statement. "There is no excuse for this blatant racism and harassment. CBS should be ashamed for allowing it, and the Matlock showrunner and producers should be held accountable. Mr. Lowe was subjected to degrading and unlawful conduct."
Lowe says he has suffered loss of income, emotional distress, humiliation, and has accumulated mental health treatment expenses as a result. He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages along with attorneys' fees.
The Broader Context
The entertainment industry has faced a steady stream of workplace misconduct lawsuits in recent years — particularly around writers' rooms, where the close quarters, long hours, and power dynamics between showrunners and lower-level writers can create environments where harassment goes unchecked.
California has some of the strongest employment protections in the country. Wrongful termination claims linked to protected activity — like complaining about racial discrimination or asking about a civil rights holiday — can carry significant legal weight if a plaintiff can establish a timeline connecting the complaint to the firing. Lowe's attorneys will likely lean hard on the 13-day gap between the Juneteenth incident and his termination, arguing it's evidence of retaliation rather than coincidence.
Whether the specific incidents alleged — some of which may be difficult to prove without corroborating witnesses — can survive CBS's defense that its investigation found no support for the claims will likely come down to what, if anything, other people in that writers' room saw or heard over those two years.
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