'60 Minutes' Producer Sues for Gender Discrimination & Retaliation

Associate Producer of 60 Minutes, Cassandra Vinograd has sued CBS for "unlawful discriminatory conduct" and "unlawful retaliatory conduct" after she attempted to report her boss for misconduct.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, in September 2019, Vinograd "emailed senior executives and the general counsel, to describe her serious concerns regarding 'highly inappropriate, unprofessional and upsetting events'" involving her boss, longtime CBS News producer Michael Gavshon, whom she claims sent her an inappropriate photograph. She asked for an investigation and to be protected from "retaliation."

"In the ensuing days, through a series of swift moving events, Cassie was ostracized, isolated and penalized for calling out what she perceived as inappropriate conduct by Gavshon," the suit claims. "Gavshon quickly removed her from all stories in production, including a segment she had pitched and performed the majority of the work on. In deference to Gavshon, CBS executives did nothing to stop his blatant retaliation. Worse, senior executives ratified his personal vendetta by willingly sending temporary associate producers to replace Cassie and work with Gavshon."

In addition to her concerns about his "excessive drinking," Gavshon sent her " an old photo of Gavshon and some friends urinating on what appeared to be smoldering coal."

Before joining CBS News this past summer, Vinograd worked for NBC News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.