The Young and the Restless alumna Victoria Rowell told reporters in a news conference Wednesday that she is being rejected from the hit noontime drama series despite demands of her comeback.
In a news report from ABC News, Rowell, who played Drucila Winters in the show for 17 long years, claimed that she had been "blackballed" by the soap's producers amid call for her reprisal from fans and high-powered friends like California Representative Maxine Waters and National Urban League President Marc Morial.
In a 35-page affidavit to the federal court of New York, Rowell stated the she was "impoverished and blackballed because she had chosen to speak out against the discrimination and injustice that she had endured and witnessed happen to other African Americans."
A report claims she has made repeated attempts to return to the soap since 2010.
Rowell filed a suit against the producers of The Young and the Restless, CBS, Bell-Phillip Entertainment Productions, Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television on grounds of racial discrimination.
The African-American actress made a public statement of the program's lack of racial diversity which she believed prompted her rejection. She called CBS' move a "deep and broad retaliation."
Meanwhile, CBS sent a statement to ABC explaining what went down with the show and Rowell.
"We were disappointed to learn that, after leaving the cast of The Young and the Restless on her own initiative. We harbor no ill will toward Ms. Rowell, but we will vigorously defend this case."
The actress left the show the soap in 2007 after years of experiencing racial discrimination on the set.
In a news conference Tuesday, Rowell narrated some of the "horrific behavior" she said she overcame. This includes being "spat upon," "told you're a freak," "fined $20,000 for an alleged missed day of work" and being "told to keep price tags in my costume" so that they could be returned.
Bell-Phillip, Sony and its subsidiaries have not released a statement regarding the issue as of this time.
Rowell starred in the hit noontime TV series The Young and the Restless as Drucilla Barber Winters year 1990. She received 11 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NACCP) Image awards for her portrayal.
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