Sony, ‘Jeopardy! & ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Hit With Race, Gender & Age Discrimination Complaints
Two former executives on Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune have accused Sony Pictures of engaging in unlawful race, gender, and age discrimination and retaliation against them.
Shelley Ballance Ellis, a Black woman, and her Latina colleague Monique Diaz have filed complaints with California’s Civil Rights Department and the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that Sony’s management terminated them and other workers in retaliation for collectively opposing harmful discrimination and toxic working conditions on Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.
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The pair have spent close to 50 years combined working on the shows. Ballance Ellis was Executive Director, Licensing and Clearance at Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Diaz also worked in the department. The pair were terminated in April.
They are claiming they were terminated because they objected to racial discrimination in the workplace, the pay inequity Diaz experienced, the glass ceiling and other bias Ballance Ellis faced as an older Black woman, the airing of inappropriate footage of Southern plantations on Wheel of Fortune, racist comments and jokes made in Wheel of Fortune’s control room about Black women on the show, and the dismissal of workers’ concerns about racial bias in the Jeopardy! game questions.
The CRD and the federal NLRB will investigate the allegations over the coming months. The pair are represented by Hillary Benham Baker of Benham-Baker Legal and Peter Romer-Friedman and David Berman of Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC.
Ballance Ellis pointed to comments from Maya Angelou in 1995 where she said she was boycotting Jeopardy! for its lack of diverse contestants, and Vanna White’s pay dispute with Wheel of Fortune in the claims. “As the highest-ranking Black production executive on Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune… I had a front row seat as I watched and experienced this racial bias and insensitivity.”
Diaz highlighted an incident where she and other colleagues expressed discomfort over “plantation” shots for Wheel of Fortune. “It was clear that Sony knew there was discomfort with this. My team and I were uncomfortable with having to negotiate footage, location, and photo agreements with representatives of plantations,” she said.
She also accused Wheel of Fortune producers about racist and sexist comments made about comedian Leslie Jones and other women of color about their hair.
Jeopardy!, which is exec produced by Michael Davies and hosted by Ken Jennings, is in its 41st season. It is produced by Sony Pictures Television, distributed domestically by CBS Media Ventures and internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
Wheel of Fortune, which is exec produced by Bellamie Blackstone and hosted by Ryan Seacrest, is in Season 42. It is produced by Sony Pictures Television.
“Sony Pictures Entertainment takes all allegations of discrimination very seriously. Earlier this year there was a broad reorganization of our game show group that resulted in the elimination of several roles to address redundancies and evolving business needs of a 40+-year-old operation. Those eliminations were business efficiency decisions and not retaliatory. Further, the past few years have been a time of significant transition and internal reorienting for Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, driven by a new leadership team who are profoundly dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect. We are anchored to these values as we usher in a new era for our game shows with tenacity and circumspection,” a Sony spokesperson said.
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