‘Matlock’ Writer Sues CBS Over Allegedly Racist and Sexual Comments

Urman is cast as a central figure in the complaint alongside her lieutenants, Renna and Lieber.

In the lawsuit, Lowe details a series of sexual comments aimed at him that were also meant to be racially demeaning. He was told shortly after he started that his shoe size and race meant he was “well-endowed down there,” one of several alleged comments about his sex life that included a question about “how he handled a man’s genitals,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit points to an incident in which Urman brought her dog into the writers’ room, declaring that her children no longer wanted it. She coerced Lowe into keeping it for nearly a year, according to the complaint. The writer claims the demand was “racially motivated harassment and an exercise of supervisory power designed to burden him.”

“She said ‘as long as you have this dog, you’ll always have a place here,’” Lowe says.

The racially-charged comments allegedly reached the cast, according to the complaint. On one occasion, Renna allegedly stated that Eme Ikwuakor, a Black recurring cast member, “can barely read.” In another incident, she allegedly called Lowe late at night and told him she was in bed wearing only her underwear, the lawsuit claims.

The situation reached a boiling point in June 2025 when Lowe asked Urman whether the writers’ room would observe Juneteenth. She responded to him by calling the day “Coonteenth,” the lawsuit alleges.

“I had prayed for this moment — to be on a Paramount film set,” says Lowe, who adds that he spent the subsequent work week crying in empty soundstages. “She said it on purpose as a way of letting me know that she owns me to a degree.”

Shortly after, Lowe was placed on hiatus. He says he was terminated in July, less than two weeks after he raised concerns about the way in which the writers’ room was being managed. The lawsuit alleges his firing was retaliatory. 

“There is no excuse for this blatant racism and harassment,” said Ron Zambrano, a lawyer for Lowe, in a statement. “CBS should be ashamed for allowing it, and the Matlock showrunner and producers should be held accountable.”

Matlock has been a breakout hit for CBS, averaging 16 million cross-platform viewers over 35 days in its first season. The series, a meta-update of the 1980s and ’90s show featuring Andy Griffith, stars Kathy Bates as a lawyer who restarts her career at a New York firm, Leah Lewis, Skye P. Marshall and Jason Ritter.

The filing of the lawsuit comes after Matlock actor David Del Rio was abruptly fired from the production for sexual assault in an incident involving him and an unnamed female member of the cast.

Earlier this year, Del Rio initiated arbitration against CBS Studios. He alleged that evidence undermining the allegations against him weren’t fully considered before he was terminated.