A 60-page federal lawsuit accuses Horizon Media’s CEO and HR leaders of discriminatory practices and retaliation against black women executives, contradicting the company’s public commitment to diversity and inclusion.
A current and former employee have filed a 60-plus-page federal lawsuit in the US District Court in New York against Horizon Media Holdings and Horizon Media alleging discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment perpetuated by senior executives.
The plaintiffs are Latraviette Smith-Wilson, Horizon Media’s former executive vice-president and chief marketing and equity officer; and Charisma Deberry, Horizon Media Holdings’ vice-president of strategic comms and engagement.
Smith-Wilson left her role in May. Soon after, the company named Crystal Park as chief marketing officer.
“Horizon claimed to be an industry-leading example of opportunity and inclusivity, even declaring ‘DEI is our DNA’, but unfortunately, behind closed doors, those words were empty, and that DNA unravelled quickly,” the suit states.
The complaint says Horizon CEO Bill Koenigsberg, president Bob Lord and executive vice-president of HR, Nancy Galanty, engaged in a sustained campaign of bias and retaliation that culminated in Smith-Wilson's abrupt firing under a “restructuring” pretext and continued escalations of retaliation against Deberry, who remains employed there.
The suit says that Koenigsberg told Deberry to “seduce reporters”. Separately, he allegedly told Smith-Wilson: “I brought you in here because you got a set of whatever … think about that,” according to court documents.
Horizon’s leadership also told Deberry to be more “articulate” and labelled her as “angry”, according to the suit. When Smith-Wilson presented facts in response to unfounded accusations, she was branded as “defensive” or “incompetent”. She was told multiple times that she was there to “serve” leadership and her male peers, the filing states.
The suit also says that when Deberry corroborated a departing employee's report of mistreatment of black women leaders at Horizon, Galanty promised confidentiality, then disclosed Deberry's comments to leadership and pressed her to file a formal complaint. The company’s HR department, led by Galanty's subordinate, later closed the matter after a perfunctory internal process, according to the suit.
An internal email subsequently sent to Smith-Wilson, cited in the suit, acknowledged “gaps in Horizon’s exit interview process”, “lack of clarity regarding what organisational criteria is used regarding the investigative processes” and a “need for training” for HR and leadership. The complaint also details what the plaintiffs say was HR’s mishandling of bias concerns, providing instances of Galanty minimising or denying reports, misrepresenting facts and recusing herself from conflicts only after her involvement in the “discomfort along the way” was acknowledged internally.
The complaint also says Smith-Wilson was fired without warning as part of a “restructuring”. However, less than two weeks following her departure, Horizon announced Park as its new CMO. Horizon also said it would hire a new chief equity officer to replace Smith-Wilson, with the function then reporting to Galanty.
Further, the complaint says that after the plaintiffs raised concerns about overstated claims and readiness of Horizon’s Blu platform, leadership accused them of not understanding the company’s tools and tech and blamed them for deliverables owned by other departments.
The suit seeks relief under Section 1981, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York City Human Rights Law, and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, including compensatory and punitive damages and injunctive relief.
In response to the suit, Horizon Media said in a statement provided to PRWeek that it is proud of its 35-year history of “fostering an inclusive and award-winning culture”.
“While we do not comment on pending litigation, we categorically reject these allegations and are prepared to vigorously defend them,” the company said. “We maintain the highest standards and stand firmly in our values and our people. We are focused on serving our clients and continuing to be one of the best places to work in the industry.”
After plaintiffs’ counsel notified Horizon, Deberry was removed from attending major events such as the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. She has also been stripped of additional responsibilities and publicly diminished in her role, the plaintiffs say.
Vladeck, Raskin & Clark, PC, is representing the plaintiffs as legal counsel.
Attorney Anne Clark said via email that this case is centred on holding executives accountable for “unlawful retaliation, discrimination and creating a hostile work environment. Companies are not immunised by citing diverse hires or past awards; the law requires equal standards, equal opportunity and equal respect.”
Smith-Wilson and Deberry were not available for comment.
Smith-Wilson had worked at Horizon since February 2022, with responsibility for marketing and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion across the entire holding company. Before that, she was a board member at Ashley Stewart and chief strategy and engagement officer at Essence Communications. She has also held senior roles at Edelman and American Express.
Smith-Wilson was also part of PRWeek’s Women of Distinction class of 2025.
Horizon Media is a private company majority-owned by founder Koenigsberg. The firm, which launched in 1989, is based in New York with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. It has more than 2,400 staffers and media investments of more than $8.5 billion.
Horizon Media Holdings launched as the parent company of the agency in 2021. It appointed Lord as its first president this year. He has served in senior roles at Razorfish and IBM. Other firms in its network include marketing firm Horizon Next, social media shop Blue Hour Studios and sports and experiential agency HS&E.
