CBS Studios has filed a motion in Los Angeles Superior Court under the anti-SLAPP statute to strike a lawsuit filed earlier this summer by former “Matlock” writer John Lowe. The CBS Studios filing included multiple declarations disputing his allegations against three of the show’s executive producers.
“We take allegations of discrimination and harassment very seriously,” a CBS Studios spokesperson said. “Today, with the filing of our motion to strike, we took our first step toward challenging the baseless complaint filed by former ‘Matlock’ writer John Lowe. As stated in the motion and following a thorough investigation, we are confident that Lowe’s accusations are demonstrably inaccurate and maliciously fabricated, and will not allow them to go unchallenged.
In his lawsuit, Lowe — who worked on “Matlock” from October 2023 to July 2024 (as CBS Studios noted, not in 2025, as Lowe’s complaint stated) — claimed he was terminated from his position as a form of retaliation, as it came two weeks after reporting an alleged incident in which Urman referred to Juneteenth as “Coonteenth.”
In declarations, Urman, Renna, Lieber and other witnesses disputed this, and said that Urman “never used that word (and) did not say it to Ms. Renna, to Lowe, or to anyone else.”
And regarding Lowe’s allegations of sexually charged comments, the producers declared that “Lowe’s sexuality or his sex life was never questioned, nor was his body ever commented on.”
