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/victoria-rowell-not-ruling-out-returning-to-daytime-tv/?icid=main|hp-laptop|dl5|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bvnewswire.com%2F2009%2F09%2F11%2Fvictoria-rowell-not-ruling-out-returning-to-daytime-tv%2F
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/victoria-rowell-not-ruling-out-returning-to-daytime-tv/?icid=main|hp-laptop|dl5|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bvnewswire.com%2F2009%2F09%2F11%2Fvictoria-rowell-not-ruling-out-returning-to-daytime-tv%2F