Victoria Rowell lawsuit has her heading to court against CBS/Sony
#1 Young & Restless corporate market is Louisiana - older, single BLACK women buying P&G etc. P&G factory in Pineville. #dru4diversity
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) June 22, 2015
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Backbone of CBS' Young&Restless' #1 status is generational consumer-viewership of BLACK women which I along w/AA actors sufficiently drew.
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) June 22, 2015
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Ms. Stafford, unleashed to spit on me as I worked on CBS' Y&R, Ms. Scott did tribal dance in an AFRO wig - new attacks only enhance my case.
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) June 22, 2015
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Oh LORD. @victoriarowell blocked me! Haha. FYI she and I have never had issues. Go figure. love on... and yes. I'll be at the fan event!
— Eileen Davidson (@eileen_davidson) June 21, 2015
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Ok. What? Victoria Rowell has accused me of being a "ratings seeker"? I have no idea how what I tweeted about Charleston became this.
— Eileen Davidson (@eileen_davidson) June 21, 2015
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Alexis don't be distracted by willfully blind shameless ratings seekers. @BriBuckhead @richeycollaxo @eileen_davidson http://t.co/zFgaVW9Al0
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) June 21, 2015
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According to The Hollywood Reporter on May 14, CBS/Sony Pictures filed a pair of motions in a California courtroom today. One aims to dismiss the claims by Victoria Rowell that she was not rehired to play Drucilla Winters because there's no requirement under the Fair Employment and Housing Act that employers create new positions when asked, saying Rowell never actually applied for a job at the soap, just asked that her character return.
The second motion aims to defeat Rowell's lawsuit on the grounds of free speech, saying casting decisions are creatively protected by the First Amendment.
The lawsuit was recently brought to California from New York were Rowell initially filed.
According to CBS Soaps In Depth on March 24, one of Victoria Rowell's attorneys, Dan Stormer, responded to CBS/Sony's claim that her lawsuit is unconstitutional by saying it's false. He said CBS/Sony is not exempt from US laws prohibiting retaliation against an employee who opposes racial discrimination, and that Rowell is exercising her right to free speech.
According to The Wrap on March 23, lawyers for CBS/Sony have moved to have the lawsuit by Victoria Rowell dismissed. They contend that it violates the First Amendment since casting and script decisions are protected free speech, that she has failed to state a cognizable claim, and note that she cannot show that there was any open position for which she actually applied in the period relevant to the claim. CBS/Sony also petitioned to have the case moved to California.
According to a press release sent to Soaps.com on February 17 from a representative of Victoria Rowell, with regard to her lawsuit against CBS/Sony, attorney Cyrus Mehri, a founding partner of Mehri & Skalet PLLC, a Washington DC-based law firm representing Rowell, stated:
“All Ms. Rowell is seeking is basic fairness. We are confident that Ms. Rowell will be rehired if the issue is considered in a serious and non-retaliatory manner. Ms. Rowell made Drucilla Winters one of the most compelling characters ever to appear on daytime television. In refusing to re-employ her, the defendants aren’t just hurting Ms. Rowell; they’re acting against their own economic self-interest."
Another attorney for Rowell, Dan Stormer, of Los Angeles-based law firm Hadsell, Stormer & Renick LLP, added, "Victoria Rowell has committed the crime of being black in American entertainment. She had the audacity to speak out on issues affecting African Americans. She is an icon who is not welcome by the powers that be simply because she has condemned the second-class status of African Americans in television.”
Victoria Rowell held a press conference in New York to address the lawsuit. According to Soap Opera Digest she stated, "This is a profound moment for me as an African American woman, who wishes to continue to live the American dream. I always advocated for myself and was taught to do so after 18 years in foster care, and I advocate for others and was taught to do so. So, this is not about me, this is about myself and many, many African Americans who have been denied the right to perform in front and behind the camera, specifically on 'The Young and the Restless'."
Soaps.com learned on February 12 that actress/author Victoria Rowell, who played Drucilla Winters on "The Young and the Restless" from 1990 until 2007, has filed a lawsuit against CBS/Sony. The character of Drucilla was last seen when she went over a cliff and was presumed dead.
According to a report by Daytime Confidential, Rowell's claim alleges that CBS/Sony has refused to re-employ her in retaliation for her advocating for the employment of African-Americans in daytime television. She also claims that she left the soap opera in 2007 due to racial discrimination.
CBS had this to say in a statement to Soaps.com:
"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."
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Header photo: Jill Johnson/JPI
- Candace Young/Hollie Deese/Amy Mistretta
Legal move.
Updated June 24, 2016: In a follow-up hearing to the one held May 23, Soaps.com has learned that a judge has ruled that Victoria Rowell’s lawsuit against Sony, which she amended, can proceed. The lawsuit moving forward will focus on her allegations that they removed her from a “Days of our Lives” audition list and have blocked her from returning as Drucilla Winters on “Y&R” in retaliation for her speaking out about the lack of diversity in the soap industry.
On June 6, a trial date of April 17, 2017 has been set for Victoria Rowell’s case against Sony/CBS. The actress updated followers on Twitter:
Know your WORTH! Fight for your rights. Retaliation is illegal in USA! Trial date April 17, 2017! God as my witness pic.twitter.com/MOEzzCrnII
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) June 5, 2016
Announced on May 12, Victoria Rowell will go to court against CBS/Sony on May 23 in a hearing which is open to the public. Rowell posted the details on Twitter:
PUBLIC HEARING! ROWELL vs SONY, CBS, BELL, CORDAY May 23, 2016 8:30 a.m. Courtroom 750 of the U.S.District Courthouse Roybal Bldg.
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) May 12, 2016
On November 26, Victoria Rowell let her followers on Twitter know that she had resubmitted a claim against CBS/Sony:
2nd Amended Complaint filed Nov. 24.15 in United States District Court yesterday by my legal counsel: Rowell vs Sony,CBS,Bell,Corday. 39pgs
— Victoria Rowell (@victoriarowell) November 25, 2015
On November 11, The Hollywood Reporter has learned that U.S. District Judge John Kronstadt has dismissed Victoria Rowell’s claim of retaliation in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act against CBS Corp. and Sony Pictures.
“In effect, Plaintiff claims that there is always a position that is constructively open,” writes the judge. “This alone is not a sufficient basis to state a claim. Indeed, such an approach has the potential to open the door to vast number and wide variety of claims in many industries in which those who did not pursue open positions claimed that employers should have created them. There is no justification for such a material expansion of the McDonnell Douglas test. It would create a new issue: whether there was a reasonable basis for an employer not to have created a new position.”
Apparently, the judge did offer Rowell an opportunity to resubmit if she had proper evidence to support the claim.
As reported on June 22, Rowell has been tweeting about the lawsuit against CBS/Sony and also about some of her former “Y&R” co-stars, which ended up with her blocking actress Eileen Davidson (Ashley). See some of her Twitter posts below:
