Victoria Rowell (Drucilla Winters) Expresses Her Disappointment With Y&R - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 09-15-2009, 10:41 PM

Victoria Rowell Not Ruling Out Return to Young & the Restless
Posted by Bridget Bland on Sep 11th 2009 6:07PM

Like her legendary character, Drucilla Winters, on the Young and the Restless, actress Victoria Rowell doesn't bite her tongue. The NAACP Image Award Winner had no problem filling the BV Newswire in on her discontent with the show's direction, her next book project and why we need to hold CBS accountable for the representation of African Americans on television.

"I introduced a story line about foster care five years ago that was very authentic," Rowell disclosed.

She said she asked CBS to hire a black actor because black men are the predominant race in foster care. The story line was a huge success, garnering the show an Emmy, an NAACP Image Award and Congressional recognition, but Rowell said she is unhappy with the recent direction it has taken.

"About some weeks ago, they had the young foster son sleeping with his father's girlfriend, and it did not sit well with a lot of people, predominantly black women because African American women make up the Young and the Restless audience," she said.

"I take this very serious, and I think that a sterling story line that received so much positive attention just hit a cord with a lot of people, and this is not the Bill Bell legacy."

"I'm devastated," she continued. "I put in 16, 17 years and doggedly tried to bring in effective change so that the new generation of actors wouldn't say who's going to do my hair. ... It's 2009 and the show has been on the air for 37 years. We had a cast of eight black actors and now you're down to two. Come on NAACP and Urban League, speak up. Who's asleep at the wheel at CBS?"

Rowell's character fell off a cliff into shallow water, but her body was not discovered. Fans of the actress have started a grass roots campaign, urging for Drucilla's return.

"White actors in daytime are brought back from the dead all the time. Why does it require a national campaign to bring back perhaps arguably the strongest black actress in daytime? she questioned. What is that about? Let's evaluate what's keeping the show on the air -- the sponsors, the black hair products, black women clutching detergent bottles. Who's pimping who?"

Despite Rowell's frustration, the Portland, Maine, native has a lot of other fabulous things in the work.

She recently tied the knot with visual artist Radcliff Bailey. The couple honeymooned in Spain and spend their time between Los Angeles and Atlanta.

After an international book tour for her New York Times best-selling tome The Women Who Raised Me, Rowell is working on her next book, Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva, which will be out next year. The novel is fiction, but Rowell says there are hints of her struggle in its story.

"It's about a protagonist from Mississippi who migrates to Hollywood with no formal training," Rowell said. "She struggles with the disparity that exists for black actresses."

When the book launches, there will be a one-woman show with a limited run, "Whoopi Goldberg-esque," Rowell adds.

Although cities and dates are uncertain right now, Rowell has confirmed there will be an Atlanta show at the Southwest Arts Center.

http://www.bvnewswire.com/2009/09/11...-daytime-tv%2F

catlover79 · 09-15-2009, 11:28 PM

I read somewhere that she has/had a feud with both Peter Bergman and Michelle Stafford. Anyone know for sure?

HuntingtonM15 · 09-16-2009, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I read somewhere that she has/had a feud with both Peter Bergman and Michelle Stafford. Anyone know for sure?

I don't know about Peter, but I know she definitely had some nasty things to say about Michelle. Of course this was after they wouldn't let her back on the show, so she was mostly having a bitter rant.

catlover79 · 09-16-2009, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntingtonM15

I don't know about Peter, but I know she definitely had some nasty things to say about Michelle. Of course this was after they wouldn't let her back on the show, so she was mostly having a bitter rant.

OK. I also read on the internet somewhere that she also had problems with the actress playing her daughter (Christel something or other).

HuntingtonM15 · 09-16-2009, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

OK. I also read on the internet somewhere that she also had problems with the actress playing her daughter (Christel something or other).

Christel Khalil originated the role of teenage Lily, and when she left she was replaced by Davetta Sherwood. Y&R was able to convince Christel back into the role so they let Davetta go. I'm pretty sure Victoria was quite vocal about this.

catlover79 · 09-16-2009, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntingtonM15

Christel Khalil originated the role of teenage Lily, and when she left she was replaced by Davetta Sherwood. Y&R was able to convince Christel back into the role so they let Davetta go. I'm pretty sure Victoria was quite vocal about this.

I thought so - thanks, Michael.

PunkyP0WER · 09-18-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I thought so - thanks, Michael.

being a former longtime viewer of y&r, and having been a fan of the winters family - dru, nathan, neil and olivia, i always thought victoria rowell acted like a diva. in regards to her storyline complaints, yes the foster son story was noble but this is a soap opera not different strokes or a psa. soaps are supposed to have scandal and betrayal. why should the winters family be above this? yes its nice to bring awareness to the viewers and deliver that message through a storyline but at the end of the day the soap opera has a formula to stick to.

and i don't understand her comments about how it takes a national campaign to resurrect her character. as far as i know, she was always the one who iniated her exits so why is she whining about it?another thing is the economy. i'm sure she'd command a large figure that can't be met. they have cut the salaries of the veteran soap stars as it is and gave many of the big stars the axe and doubt they can afford to get her back at a price that she'd be satisfied with. if anything they'll hire an unknown and pay them the minimum wage of soap opera land

i agree that there are less african americans on y& r in recent years (not sure about other soaps)and that is a shame but with the soap genre bottoming out, the studios aren't going to bring a slew of new characters in now when they're at a point of letting a lot of them go.she's complaining about something thats a part of a dieing breed. when the dieing genre of soaps is compared to the rest of popular culture, she'd find that the african american community is represented on tv and in movies now more than ever.

seriously victoria rowell is not happy unless she's complaining. even on her hayday at y&r, when the winters family had prominent storylines she wasn't satisfied. she'd be on the cover of a soap mag and instead of being grateful that she had a front burner story with neil and malcolm or whoever she'd still be harping about how she wasn't getting enough screen time or her role wasn't meaty enough.

JT · 09-18-2009, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I read somewhere that she has/had a feud with both Peter Bergman and Michelle Stafford. Anyone know for sure?

I've never really gotten the whole story on this, but from what I know, Victoria was upset that Peter and Michelle (and maybe some others?) wouldn't vote her in as a pre-nomination for the Emmys one year, and she believed that backstage politics and the show's cliquey cast and crew played a huge part in her not getting a nomination or being able to write scripts for the show. I think that Bill Bell would let her write for the show, and she simply wanted to continue that, but they wouldn't let her.

I don't know for sure, but that's what I've gathered from it. IMO, both parties have some wrongs in them.

catlover79 · 09-19-2009, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JT

I've never really gotten the whole story on this, but from what I know, Victoria was upset that Peter and Michelle (and maybe some others?) wouldn't vote her in as a pre-nomination for the Emmys one year, and she believed that backstage politics and the show's cliquey cast and crew played a huge part in her not getting a nomination or being able to write scripts for the show. I think that Bill Bell would let her write for the show, and she simply wanted to continue that, but they wouldn't let her.

I don't know for sure, but that's what I've gathered from it. IMO, both parties have some wrongs in them.

Has her on-screen hubby Kristoff St. John commented about any of this? Did/do they get along in real life?

HHorseman · 09-26-2009, 03:31 PM

Alot of bitching by the sounds of it, theirs been alot of white actors that have just been let go and never given a second chance even though the fans wanted them back,she was given a second go and she wanted to leave thats on her. Id be more mad about all the kids being killed off in the last few years.

Don Diamont deserved better then what he got thats a guy I felt sorry for spent over twenty years on the show only to get the hook.

HHorseman · 09-26-2009, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntingtonM15

Christel Khalil originated the role of teenage Lily, and when she left she was replaced by Davetta Sherwood. Y&R was able to convince Christel back into the role so they let Davetta go. I'm pretty sure Victoria was quite vocal about this.

I dont blame the show at all, I really couldnt take to the replacement daugther,,its not smart mouthing off to much because pretty much any Soap actor or actress is expendable.

catlover79 · 09-26-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HHorseman

Alot of bitching by the sounds of it, theirs been alot of white actors that have just been let go and never given a second chance even though the fans wanted them back,she was given a second go and she wanted to leave thats on her. Id be more mad about all the kids being killed off in the last few years.

Don Diamont deserved better then what he got thats a guy I felt sorry for spent over twenty years on the show only to get the hook.

Thankfully he was able to book another soap gig in fairly short order - on B&B!

catlover79 · 09-26-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HHorseman

I dont blame the show at all, I really couldnt take to the replacement daugther,,its not smart mouthing off to much because pretty much any Soap actor or actress is expendable.

Now more than ever - sad but true.

MickeyMac · 09-26-2009, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

Has her on-screen hubby Kristoff St. John commented about any of this? Did/do they get along in real life?

From what I read I take it they get along, since she has been vocal about the recent lack of screen time St. John has been getting. She indicated he should be on more, so based on that I am assuming they got along.

catlover79 · 09-26-2009, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickeyMac

From what I read I take it they get along, since she has been vocal about the recent lack of screen time St. John has been getting. She indicated he should be on more, so based on that I am assuming they got along.

That's what I tend to believe. I've heard him say nothing but nice things about her in the past, and vice versa. He probably just decided to stay out of this situation - not that I blame him.

09-15-2009, 10:41 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,291	Victoria Rowell (Drucilla Winters) Expresses Her Disappointment With Y&R Victoria Rowell Not Ruling Out Return to Young & the Restless Posted by Bridget Bland on Sep 11th 2009 6:07PM Like her legendary character, Drucilla Winters, on the Young and the Restless, actress Victoria Rowell doesn't bite her tongue. The NAACP Image Award Winner had no problem filling the BV Newswire in on her discontent with the show's direction, her next book project and why we need to hold CBS accountable for the representation of African Americans on television. "I introduced a story line about foster care five years ago that was very authentic," Rowell disclosed. She said she asked CBS to hire a black actor because black men are the predominant race in foster care. The story line was a huge success, garnering the show an Emmy, an NAACP Image Award and Congressional recognition, but Rowell said she is unhappy with the recent direction it has taken. "About some weeks ago, they had the young foster son sleeping with his father's girlfriend, and it did not sit well with a lot of people, predominantly black women because African American women make up the Young and the Restless audience," she said. "I take this very serious, and I think that a sterling story line that received so much positive attention just hit a cord with a lot of people, and this is not the Bill Bell legacy." "I'm devastated," she continued. "I put in 16, 17 years and doggedly tried to bring in effective change so that the new generation of actors wouldn't say who's going to do my hair. ... It's 2009 and the show has been on the air for 37 years. We had a cast of eight black actors and now you're down to two. Come on NAACP and Urban League, speak up. Who's asleep at the wheel at CBS?" Rowell's character fell off a cliff into shallow water, but her body was not discovered. Fans of the actress have started a grass roots campaign, urging for Drucilla's return. "White actors in daytime are brought back from the dead all the time. Why does it require a national campaign to bring back perhaps arguably the strongest black actress in daytime? she questioned. What is that about? Let's evaluate what's keeping the show on the air -- the sponsors, the black hair products, black women clutching detergent bottles. Who's pimping who?" Despite Rowell's frustration, the Portland, Maine, native has a lot of other fabulous things in the work. She recently tied the knot with visual artist Radcliff Bailey. The couple honeymooned in Spain and spend their time between Los Angeles and Atlanta. After an international book tour for her New York Times best-selling tome The Women Who Raised Me, Rowell is working on her next book, Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva, which will be out next year. The novel is fiction, but Rowell says there are hints of her struggle in its story. "It's about a protagonist from Mississippi who migrates to Hollywood with no formal training," Rowell said. "She struggles with the disparity that exists for black actresses." When the book launches, there will be a one-woman show with a limited run, "Whoopi Goldberg-esque," Rowell adds. Although cities and dates are uncertain right now, Rowell has confirmed there will be an Atlanta show at the Southwest Arts Center. http://www.bvnewswire.com/2009/09/11...-daytime-tv%2F Attached Images

09-15-2009, 11:28 PM	#2
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	I read somewhere that she has/had a feud with both Peter Bergman and Michelle Stafford. Anyone know for sure?
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09-26-2009, 03:31 PM	#10
HHorseman Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 23, 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 218	Alot of bitching by the sounds of it, theirs been alot of white actors that have just been let go and never given a second chance even though the fans wanted them back,she was given a second go and she wanted to leave thats on her. Id be more mad about all the kids being killed off in the last few years. Don Diamont deserved better then what he got thats a guy I felt sorry for spent over twenty years on the show only to get the hook.