Jeopardy! discrimination, Wheel of Fortune discrimination overview:
- Who: Two women who worked on Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune have filed complaints against Sony Pictures Entertainment.
- Why: The women allege race, gender and age discrimination at Sony.
- Where: The Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! discrimination complaints were filed with California’s Civil Rights Department and the National Labor Relations Board.
Two long-time Sony production executives — a Black woman and a Latina — are suing Sony Pictures Entertainment, accusing the company of race, gender and age discrimination, as well as retaliation.
Shelley Ballance Ellis, who served as executive director of licensing and clearance for 25 years, and Monique Diaz, a senior licensing and clearance coordinator of 23 years, both filed complaints against Sony Pictures Entertainment with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Oct. 11, and with the California’s Civil Rights Department on Oct. 24.
The pair allege that they and their entire department were let go in April after “concerted action to protest and oppose discriminatory, unhealthy and toxic working conditions” affecting the clearance and licensing team.
The executives claim that Sony’s game show production team had a history of discriminatory practices against people of color who played integral roles in the success of shows like Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Their termination was Sony’s response to their objections against what they say were longstanding discriminatory practices, massive pay inequities, and the “glass ceiling” that Ellis felt particularly as an older Black woman, she alleges.
Complaints allege ‘racist remarks’ and bias
Ballance Ellis and Diaz say they objected to a range of issues on the Sony sets, including allegedly “inappropriate footage of southern plantations” used on Wheel of Fortune, racist remarks about Black women in the control room, and Sony’s disregard of potential racial biases in Jeopardy! questions.
Ballance Ellis, who was Sony’s highest-ranking Black production executive on the shows, described her experience as a “front row seat” to the company’s racial insensitivities, according to her complaint.
She says in her complaint that after raising concerns over many years, her position was given to a younger, white woman in a “repackaged role.” The restructuring, Ellis claims, replaced her diverse team — employees over 40 years old — with mostly younger, white hires.
Diaz added in her California complaint that the clearance and licensing team was the most racially diverse among Sony’s production groups. Despite this, the entire team was terminated in April 2024. She shared that she discovered in 2021 that she earned $75,000 — significantly less than a new white colleague in a lower-ranked position who was hired at $125,000.
Both women allege their terminations violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act. Sony described the April job cuts as a part of a “broad reorganization” to address “redundancies and evolving business needs” of the long-running shows, emphasizing that the decisions were not retaliatory. California’s CRD and the federal NLRB will investigate the claims.
Meanwhile, in February, Oracle agreed to a $25 million settlement to end a discrimination class action lawsuit claiming the company paid female employees less than male employees.
What do you think of the allegations in these Jeopardy! discrimination and Wheel of Fortune discrimination complaints? Let us know in the comments.
Ballance Ellis and Diaz are represented by Peter Romer-Friedman and David Berman of Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC and Hillary Benham-Baker of Benham-Baker Legal.
The California Wheel of Fortune discrimination and Jeopardy! discrimination complaints are Case Nos. 202410-26797924 and 202410-26798524, before the California Civil Rights Department. Case numbers for the NLRB complaints weren’t immediately available.
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