Diversity Tested at Paramount TV as 13 People of Color Exit in 2 Years | Exclusive

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TV president Nicole Clemens has restructured studio and streaming, and executives of color are leaving

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Former Paramount executives Ashley Whitaker (left), Lisa Wang Pearl and Carlos Aguirre. Paramount TV President Nicole Clemens (center), and former Paramount executives Meggie Choi, Portia Rainey and Cela Sutton. (Christopher Smith/TheWrap)

Paramount TV has lost 13 employees of color in the past two years, including six executives from Paramount+ and Paramount Television Studios, leading insiders to question the commitment to diversity of president Nicole Clemens and the company, TheWrap has learned.

Paramount Television Studios VP of development Carlos Aguirre, development director Portia Rainey and Lisa Wang Pearl were laid off as part of a major restructuring in Nov. 2022, TheWrap confirmed with a Paramount insider familiar with the matter. Paramount+ development directors Ashley Whitaker and Cela Sutton and Paramount Television Studios VP of current programming Meggie Choi all left the company in the last two years.

Jose Alejandro Bastidas

Jose Alejandro Bastidas is TheWrap’s TV editor. Previously, he worked as assistant arts & entertainment editor at the San Francisco Chronicle. He also served as a staff writer at PopCulture.com, based in Nashville, and as food reporter and digital producer at The Desert Sun (a Gannett publication) based in Palm Springs. He has a BA…

Umberto Gonzalez

Umberto has been covering the fanboy beat & breaking scoops for 20 years with numerous Hollywood trade, newspaper, & magazine mentions to his credit. Umberto has been profiled in such publications as The Washington Post, Variety and Grantland.

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