{"id":504988,"date":"2026-03-05T09:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T09:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/504988\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T09:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T09:37:08","slug":"david-del-rio-initiates-arbitration-against-cbs-over-matlock-firing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/504988\/","title":{"rendered":"David Del Rio initiates arbitration against CBS over ‘Matlock’ firing"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Del Rio has initiated arbitration against CBS after they fired him from \u201cMatlock\u201d in October over co-star Leah Lewis\u2019 allegation of sexual assault<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid Del Rio has initiated arbitration against CBS Studios to address false and misleading allegations that caused substantial professional and reputational harm,\u201d Shawn Holley, a lawyer for the actor, told Page Six in a statement on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the arbitration, Mr. Del Rio will present real-time text communications and evidence that directly contradicts prior public characterizations of the interaction at issue,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cThis evidence was not fully considered before adverse employment action was taken.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement concluded, \u201cMr. Del Rio looks forward to resolving this matter through the appropriate legal forum and has faith that a full evidentiary review will establish the truth and restore his professional reputation.\u201d <\/p>\n

David Del Rio has initiated arbitration against CBS over his firing from \u201cMatlock,\u201d his lawyer tells Page Six. He\u2019s seen here in Burbank, Calif. in November 2024. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid Del Rio has initiated arbitration against CBS Studios to address false and misleading allegations that caused substantial professional and reputational harm,\u201d lawyer Shawn Holley told us. Del Rio is shown here in Los Angeles in May 2025. Variety via Getty Images<\/p>\n

According to TMZ<\/a>, Del Rio hired Holley and the investigation was reopened \u2014 though CBS stood by their decision to fire the actor.<\/p>\n

Sources told the outlet on Wednesday that Del Rio \u201cfully cooperated\u201d with the investigation \u2014 and the reopened investigation \u2014 as well as submitted \u201cdocumentary evidence supporting his position,\u201d to no avail.<\/p>\n

Per the outlet\u2019s sources, CBS re-characterized the claims from \u201csexual assault to unwelcome sexual conduct\u201d following the investigation. Sources for TMZ also claimed the network asked that he \u201cremain silent\u201d and refrain from reaching out to his representatives or lawyers throughout the process. <\/p>\n

A studio source, however, claimed David wasn\u2019t denied legal representation during the process, per TMZ. <\/p>\n

Del Rio was fired from \u201cMatlock\u201d in October after co-star Leah Lewis accused him of sexual assault. She\u2019s seen here alongside Jason Ritter, Kathy Bates, Skye P. Marshall, and Del Rio in May 2025. CBS<\/p>\n

CBS confirmed to Page Six at the time that Del Rio had \u201cdeparted the series.\u201d Lewis and Del Rio are seen here on the series with co-star Skye P. Marshall. CBS<\/p>\n

Sources also told the outlet that \u201cadditional evidence\u201d allegedly obtained by Del Rio\u2019s attorneys after the additional investigation concluded would be presented during the arbitration. <\/p>\n

Reps for Lewis and CBS did not immediately return Page Six\u2019s request for comment on Wednesday evening. <\/p>\n

CBS confirmed to Page Six in October that Del Rio, 38, had \u201cdeparted the series,\u201d\u00a0but declined further comment at the time. The actor played Billy Martinez opposite Lewis\u2019 Sarah Franklin on the series. <\/p>\n

Insiders previously told Deadline that the alleged incident with Del Rio and Lewis, 29, happened on Paramount property on Sept. 26, and that an investigation had been launched. <\/p>\n

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Del Rio played Billy Martinez opposite Leah Lewis\u2019 Sarah Franklin. They\u2019re seen here on \u201cMatlock\u201d with Bates and Marshall. CBS<\/p>\n

Leah spoke out in a social media statement after news of Del Rio\u2019s firing broke in October. They\u2019re seen here on \u201cMatlock\u201d with Yael Grobglas. CBS<\/p>\n

The trade outlet alleged that David was \u201cfired and escorted off the lot [on Oct. 2], the same day the alleged assault was reported\u201d and that his character would be written off the show. <\/p>\n

A-list co-stars including Kathy Bates and Jason Ritter did not comment on the alleged incident or Del Rio\u2019s firing at the time. <\/p>\n

The \u201cNancy Drew\u201d alum spoke out on Oct. 10<\/a>, sharing a red carpet event photo alongside her mother, Lorraine Lewis, via Instagram Stories after news of Del Rio\u2019s firing broke. <\/p>\n

\u201cMom is here,\u201d she told followers on the platform. \u201cI\u2019m in good hands. Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in good hands. Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care,\u201d Lewis wrote at the time. She\u2019s shown here with Del Rio, Marshall, Bates, and Jason Ritter in November 2024. CBS<\/p>\n

Co-stars including Bates and Jason Ritter have not commented. Del Rio is seen here with Bates in May 2025. Variety via Getty Images<\/p>\n

She added atop the pic,\u00a0\u201cTruly, we\u2019re moving forward in strength. Key word, strength. Please, let that be the take away.\u201d <\/p>\n

Also on Oct. 10, David\u2019s wife, Katherine Del Rio, took to her own social media following Lewis\u2019 allegation<\/a> to blast the \u201cMatlock\u201d actress.<\/p>\n

Via Instagram Stories, she shared a close-up snapshot of Lewis\u2019 face smiling, writing atop the pic, \u201cThis is the most disturbing human being I have ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also mocked Lewis\u2019 social media statement by sharing a photo with her own mother, writing, \u201cMom is here. We are moving forward in love and strength after what Leah did to our family. Thank you all for the love and support!\u201d <\/p>\n

David and Katherine tied the knot in April 2018, and have since welcomed daughters Lilia, 2, and Coco, 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"David Del Rio has initiated arbitration against CBS after they fired him from \u201cMatlock\u201d in October over co-star…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[991,236,3988,91,88,229887,562,229888,4056,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-504988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-cbs","9":"tag-celebrities","10":"tag-celebrity-crimes","11":"tag-celebrity-news","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-hirings-and-firings","14":"tag-series","15":"tag-sexual-assaults","16":"tag-sexual-misconduct","17":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}