Al Roker is sued for firing producer who complained about DEI policy failures ... trends now
Al Roker is set to face a lawsuit claiming the famed weatherman and his production company fired a producer for complaining about not meeting DEI quotas.
The longtime presenter, 69, is accused of 'wrongfully and illegally' firing producer Bill Schultz, who is white, after Shultz says he called out alleged racial discrimination in Roker's children's show, Weather Hunters.
Shultz, 47, an Emmy winning producer best known for his work on The Simpsons, said the show failed to follow diversity guidelines, including employing writers of color.
In his $10 million lawsuit filed this week in New York, Shultz said the issue was 'surprising' because Weather Hunters is 'focused on an African American Family and was inclusively developed for PBS’s importantly diverse children’s audience.'
Among the allegations form Shultz, a self-professed proponent of 'diversity and racial inclusion', claimed he was fired over allegations that the show would only bring in black writers for minor edits to scripts written by white staffers.
Al Roker, 69, is facing a lawsuit from a producer on his children's animated show, Weather Hunters, over claims his company skirted DEI policies
Longtime producer Bill Schultz, 47, said he was fired from the show he helped create after he raised concerns over a lack of diverse hiring practices on Weather Hunters
In Schultz lawsuit, first obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, he said the issue of diversity 'doomed' the producer and 'led to his wrongful termination and the wholesale breach of contract.'
He filed the action against Roker's company, Al Roker Entertainment, and its subsidiary WeatherHunters Inc., whom Shultz had worked for since 2014.
That year, Shultz claims he 'conceived, conceptualized, and created the entire business plan' for the show, which was later picked up for production by PBS.
'Mr. Schultz was indispensable in the creation of the Program and worked tirelessly to create a financial plan where one hundred
