CBS to pay fired exec accused of calling anchor ‘too gay’ nearly $10 million after caving to ‘woke mob’: suit

CBS must pay nearly $10 million to an executive accused of racist, sexist comments after caving to a “woke mob” and firing him before an investigation into his conduct was complete, according to an arbitration appeals panel and his attorney.

The appeals panel confirmed last week that CBS made a multimillion-dollar mistake when it tried to rewrite the terms of termination months after sacking the former president of CBS Television Stations, Peter Dunn, which would have stripped him of back pay and stock payouts. 

The actions by CBS — who apparently caved to pressure from “woke” critics who tried to cancel Dunn over claims he did things such as calling a news anchor “too gay” — have “destroyed” his life and kept him from getting any other jobs, his lawyer said in court papers.

“This was never about Peter’s conduct — it was to appease the woke mob,” his lawyer, Larry Hutcher, told The Post. “It was like the Red Scare, and it was very shortsighted and unfair.

A CBS spokesperson told The Post that a “procedural issue” led to the arbitration ruling in his favor, and that it “strongly disagree[s]” with the decision.

“Four years ago, we removed Peter Dunn as head of the CBS Television Stations for reasons that have been well documented and reported publicly,” the spokesperson said. “This decision was not based on the substance of the allegations against Mr. Dunn.”

The media company has had numerous shakeups and high-profile departures recently as it tries to appease Trump administration officials who need to sign off on a merger proposal.

The Dunn drama began in 2021, when an article in the Los Angeles Times accused the longtime executive of fostering a hostile work environment.

One former employee claimed Dunn had made “racist, sexist, homophobic and discriminatory comments,” including calling a black evening anchor at a local affiliate in Philadelphia “a jive guy.”

A former news director also claimed Dunn called another anchor “too gay.”

CBS immediately suspended Dunn, who worked at the network for 20 years, and another executive named in the report, and began an internal investigation.

But then CBS fired Dunn before it finished the investigation, but did not list the reason for the sacking as “for-cause” at the time, according to court documents.

Rather, CBS cited the ongoing investigation in its termination letter to Dunn, and said he would continue to be paid “as though your termination is without cause,” and it could alter the termination terms once the investigation ended, according to court filings. 

When the investigation was completed four months later, CBS said it was converting Dunn’s termination to “for cause,” which would strip him of millions in payouts owed in back pay and equity.

Hutcher, however, said the network’s decision to first fire Dunn in the face of the “woke” blowback and then to retroactively decide that the firing was “for cause” after its probe was a huge mistake.

“The proper and prudent response would have been to suspend him, continue to pay him, wait for the investigation to be completed, and then fire him,” Hutcher said.

When Dunn took CBS’s move to arbitration, a panel of retired judges said the network clearly violated his employment contract, which stated that CBS had to determine at the time of his firing if it was “for cause” or “without cause.”

The contract did not allow for “a new and nebulous third option” which would grant “CBS the (apparently unfettered) discretion to defer the ‘cause’ determination,” a judge wrote last year, ruling in favor of Dunn.

CBS appealed the decision, and another set of retired judges unanimously confirmed the ruling last week, ordering CBS to pay Dunn over $7 million, plus interest, for a total of $9.78 million.

“The Parties could have drafted such a provision,” the appeals panel ruled, “but did not.”

Hutcher said that in 50 years of practicing law, it was “the first time I ever had an appeal in an arbitration,” but that he was pleased with the outcome.

“This case was always about Peter Dunn trying to restore his otherwise impeccable reputation that he spent over 20 years at CBS developing,” Hutcher said. 

“We are grateful that the original arbitrator and that the appeals panel agreed with Mr. Dunn that he had been wrongfully terminated, and that we look forward to the award being confirmed in the Supreme Court so that we can enforce this judgment.”

A CBS spokesperson said, “We stand by the findings of our third-party investigation and the decision made to terminate Mr. Dunn for cause. We’re grateful for the many voices who spoke up in a process that led to significant cultural change at our television stations.”