White male editor suing NY Times over claim he was denied promotion in favor of black woman revealed

A bombshell court filing in the federal discrimination case against the New York Times has publicly identified the newsroom figures at the center of the explosive DEI lawsuit — including the white male editor who claims he was denied a promotion because of his race and sex.Bryant Rousseau, a veteran editor and producer on the Times’ international desk, is identified in the filing as the employee who alleges the Gray Lady passed him over for a deputy real-estate editor position in favor of a “multiracial black woman” to satisfy diversity goals, according to the complaint.The filing also names Monica Burton, the former Eater deputy editor who was hired for the role; Nikita Stewart, the Times’ real-estate editor who allegedly oversaw the hiring process; and talent manager Soraya Gunnell, who allegedly helped screen candidates and interview Rousseau.EEOC lawyers, writing on Rousseau’s behalf, said the longtime Times editor was repeatedly praised in performance reviews as “superb” and “a linchpin of our desk” — yet still failed to make it past the first round of interviews for the deputy real-estate editor role.The complaint alleges the job instead went to a “significantly less qualified multiracial black woman” who ranked among “the two lowest rated candidates out of the four finalists.”According to the filing, one interviewer concluded the eventual hire was “a bit green overall” and wrote: “I don’t see her contributing to the expansion of the coverage in a significant way.”The identities had previously been withheld in earlier EEOC filings and media reports.Rousseau has worked at the Times for more than a decade as a senior editor and producer on the international desk, according to public profiles and the filing.The complaint paints Rousseau as a deeply experienced journalism veteran with specialized real-estate coverage credentials.It alleges he possessed “all requirements” for the deputy real-estate editor role, including...