Victoria Rowell starred as Drucilla Barber Walters on “The Young and the Restless” from 1990 until 2007, when her character was abruptly killed off in an accident. She never returned to the soap opera, much to fans’ disappointment, but not because she didn’t want to, it has emerged.
Almost one year after an epic Twitter rant against CBS and the lack of diversity on “Y&R,” Rowell is taking legal action against the network alleging racial discrimination, The Wrap informs.
She didn’t leave “Y&R,” she was pushed out
You can see Rowell’s tweets on the topic of diversity on “Y&R” below: they coincided with the 40th year of the soap being on air and they seemingly came out of nowhere. That’s mostly because Rowell never went into the details of her departure from the show, as neither did the producers or anyone from the network.
That was just the beginning, it would seem.
In court documents filed on behalf of the actress, she claims that she “reluctantly left the show in 2007 after facing years of racial discrimination” and that all her subsequent attempts to come back and reprise her role were shut down.
In the world of soap operas, no character is beyond saving even after their death is shown on camera. Any character can be brought back one way or another, and if not, there’s always an evil sibling willing to take on their identity to do some damage.
The bottom line is that, if Rowell wanted to come back and producers had agreed to it, it could have been done. She was even willing to appear on “The Bold and the Beautiful” if producers deemed there was no place for her on “Y&R” anymore.
Rowell insists that Sony and Bell-Phillip Television Production Inc. turned all her repeated requests down at the demand of the CEO of CBS, who, apparently, had something against her because of the color of her skin.
No grounds for the lawsuit
If that was really the case, it’s surprising that Rowell waited so many years before going public with it or seeking justice in the court of law, unless, of course, she’s tried other ways before, ways that we know nothing about.
From a statement released to the same publication, CBS seems to be relying heavily on this 8-year gap to argue that she’s pulling the accusations out of her hat.
“We were disappointed to learn that, after leaving the cast of ‘The Young and the Restless’ on her own initiative, Ms. Rowell has attempted to rewrite that history through lawyers’ letters and a lawsuit that has no merit. We harbor no ill will toward Ms. Rowell, but we will vigorously defend this case,” the statement reads.
Rowell is yet to respond to this. The Wrap doesn’t say what kind of damages she’s seeking with the lawsuit.
Young & Restless on air for 40 years, loyally watched by their absolute competitive-edge audience (blacks) & not ONE black Exec PRODUCER?
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) March 26, 2014
ONE black writer in 40 years on a program overwhelmingly watched by African Americans.
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) March 26, 2014
Not ONE black executive in a position of power in the billion dollar business of soap opera that blacks support. PAUSE.
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) March 26, 2014
National Urban League/NYC & I worked VERY hard to push for FIRST black writer, Susan Dansby on The Young & Restless. WHY did it take 37 yrs?
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) March 26, 2014