‘The Young and the Restless’ News: Victoria Rowell Lawsuit Dismissed! Drucilla Winters Recast Coming?

Former “The Young and the Restless” star, Victoria Rowell filed a lawsuit against Sony and CBS earlier in the year to block the recast of her iconic role Drucilla Winters. She felt that they OWED it to her to ask her to come back into the role before issuing a casting call. The story has received national media coverage, because Rowell has spoken at length that her co-stars, the network, and production staff lacked diversity behind the scenes during her 17-year stay on the soap opera. The network stated many times that it wasn’t personal, they had the storyline’s best interests in mind.

Rowell stated that she was not rehired to play the role of Drucilla in early 2015 because she spoke out [openly] about the lack of diversity behind the camera at CBS studios. Deadline reported on Nov. 11 that a judge heard her case and dismissed the charges unless Rowell can amend with updated information supporting her claim.

Even though, Judge John Kronstadt is shooting down her claim at the moment, it isn’t totally over for Rowell, either. He stated, “Plaintiff’s first and second causes of action for failure to rehire on Y&R are dismissed with the leave to amend if the plaintiff can do so in good faith, and in conformance with the analysis of this Order.”

Sony and CBS responded to her claim, “there is not an open position that Victoria Rowell was qualified for at this time. “Rowell had amended her initial claim by explaining that characters are killed off and return often in the soap opera business, and the network has blocked her return to “Y&R” since 2010, just three years after she parted ways with the show.

Victoria Rowell responded by saying, “There’s always a position constructively open, should they want to fill it. The judge closed the case by stating, “This alone is not sufficient evidence to state a claim. Indeed, such an approach has the potential to open the door to a vast number and wide variety of claims in many industries in which those who did not pursue open position claimed that employers should have created them.”

It looks like for now the case is closed, unless Rowell and her team of lawyers can prove that CBS, Sony or “The Young and the Restless” broke the law or over stepped her civil rights by not rehiring her when she expressed interest in coming back to the show.

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