Read on Twitter
Victoria Rowell is one of the most mistreated actresses ever, but her story rarely gets the attention it should. She has been bullied, racially mocked, SPIT on, and silenced for advocating for black representation in television (thread)
In the era of #BlackLivesMatter 
and greater awareness of the need for racial equity in every industry, more people need to learn about this. VR has been outspoken for many years but unsurprisingly, her voice has been silenced by a racist system.
and greater awareness of the need for racial equity in every industry, more people need to learn about this. VR has been outspoken for many years but unsurprisingly, her voice has been silenced by a racist system.
First for some background: VR is considered a legend in daytime television for her iconic role as Drucilla Barber Winters on The Young & the Restless, which she played from 1990 to 2000 and 2002 until her exit in 2007.
She also had a lead role on Diagnosis: Murder, another show on the same network from 1993 to 2001. She is one of few actors with leading roles in daytime and primetime simultaneously. She gave CBS years of hard work but as you’ll see later, she would be treated horribly in return
VR was one of soap opera’s most popular stars during her run, and Drucilla was a polarizing character but also a fan favorite known for her fierce personality. VR was heavily involved in the character’s creation and dialogue. She won 10 NAACP awards for the role but...
...she never won a single Emmy Award, despite her acting on the show being acclaimed. She was only nominated 3 times. This isn’t surprising however: the Daytime Emmys usually nominate and reward the same group of white actresses every year.
The soap opera industry is 100x worse than primetime/film when it comes to representation and diversity. VR was still able to create an iconic character and thanks to her, the rest of the Barber-Winters family was added and became a staple on Y&R for many years.
of the dozens and dozens of soap actors currently employed, only a handful are black.... #BlackRepresentationMatters
Now let’s get into the messy treatment she was subjected to during her years on Y&R. She appeared in over 2,000 episodes and often had to rewrite her dialogue in scripts for it to embody her character, although she was never paid or credited for this work.
According to VR’s lawsuit against CBS & S*ny for discrimination, she was never given the chance to officially write or direct despite her many years on the network and white actors being afforded these opportunities.
VR frequently advocated for black actors, hairstylists, writers, costume designers etc at Y&R. She was extremely outspoken about the lack of diversity & it’s obvious CBS/S*ny and some in the show’s cast weren’t happy about this. They saw her as being too difficult to work with.
It is important to note that Y&R has been the longest-running daytime drama series for over 30 years, and guess who the demographic is that keeps the show at #1? Black women, hence why VR was fighting so hard for black representation. But the show wasn’t having it...
Now let’s get into some examples of racism and bullying VR says she experienced behind the scenes, for which there were never any consequences (what a shock). One instance is VR being SPIT on by another actress during a scene.
VR has described the spitting incident as racist many times. Here are some of her tweets. Given how normalized racial microaggressions have been, it's not that surprising. #BelieveBlackWomen
VR claims another actress (who is married to a former producer of the show) mocked her by wearing an Afro wig and doing a tribal dance. She says one of the show's lead actors also physically threatened her and called her mentally unstable. #BelieveBlackWomen
It should be noted tho that VR has maintained friendly relationships with many other actors, including her on-screen son Bryton James. VR’s own life story of being a foster child inspired the storyline that introduced Bryton’s character, who was adopted by Dru.
Aside from the pay gap between white and black actors, VR was apparently fined $20,000 for missing ONE day of work that she already cleared with producers + she claims she wasn’t included in Emmy ballots in her later years, which explains her lack of noms. This is blatant racism.
Here is a mention of how VR had a black hair stylist who wasn’t allowed in the makeup room and was apparently taunted by some white actors.
Ultimately the treatment she received was too much to handle, and VR quit the show in 2007 (or says she felt forced to quit). Her character was thrown off a cliff and disappeared forever, despite significant fan demand & VR asking to return (as many white actors do)
The story doesn’t end there. VR was allegedly blacklisted by CBS and Sony, preventing her from getting a role on other shows... all for being outspoken about racial diversity and speaking against racism.
One of the people who contributed to her alleged blacklisting was Les M*onves who later stepped down as head of CBS due to allegations of sexual misconduct by multiple women.
This is the same Les M*onves who sought to ruin Slaynet..I mean Janet Jackson's career after the infamous Super Bowl incident. #JusticeForJanet
And VR isn't being problematic at all. Black women are traditionally given the messy end of the stick. When Mishael Morgan left the show a few years ago (she has since returned as a new character), it was due finances:
https://twitter.com/diash178/status/1272622072150269952?s=20
https://twitter.com/diash178/status/1272622072150269952?s=20
She was wildly popular black female lead who drove many storylines but YR was not prepared to give her a raise. In this article, her manager explains it all: https://soaps.sheknows.com/the-young-and-the-restless/news/51037/interview-mishael-morgans-yr-departure-explained-by-manager/
Meanwhile, Loren Lott - one of the few darker skinned black women on daytime (we'll get into colorism in a bit) - was unceremoniously sacked because YR wanted to make 'better use' of their budget.
Loren Lott said, "I was a little bummed at first when I was told that creatively they didn’t know what to do with my storyline and they wanted to spend their budget increasing other people’s storylines but I appreciated their honesty." https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/casting/the-young-and-the-restless-loren-lott-leaving-171815
Davetta Sherwood played Victoria Rowell's character's daughter (ex Lily Winters). She was also unceremoniously axed and spoke out about lack of diversity and inclusion.
“The experiences that I had with the lack of diversity, the lack of acknowledgement of the Winters family, and just our ethnic background, was really disappointing,” Sherwood said.
But “I felt disregarded at times; I felt unappreciated at times,” she said. Sherwood said she confided with Rowell, telling her that she felt something was “a little off” on the show.
https://milwaukeecourieronline.com/index.php/2011/01/08/racism-at-cbs-television-sony-entertainment-and-bell-dramatic-for-37-years/
Still think Victoria Rowell is lying? #BelieveBlackWomen
https://milwaukeecourieronline.com/index.php/2011/01/08/racism-at-cbs-television-sony-entertainment-and-bell-dramatic-for-37-years/
Still think Victoria Rowell is lying? #BelieveBlackWomen
It is not unreasonable to want more black writers, directors, producers, makeup artists. Asking for that does not make VR a diva. Her is actress Candice Patton perfectly explaining WHY.
Sign the petition calling for a formal acknowledgment by CBS and S*ny to Victoria Rowell and to bring her back to #YR if she wants to do that. http://chng.it/rWS4kMsr6J
