‘The Young and the Restless’ News: CBS & Sony Move To Dismiss Victoria Rowell’s Lawsuit, ‘A Blatant Attempt’ [VIDEO]
Last month it became public knowledge that seasoned actress Victoria Rowell filed a lawsuit against CBS and Sony Pictures Television in regard to her not getting re-employed on The Young and the Restless or snagging a role on its sister soap The Bold and the Beautiful.
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Rowell joined the cast of The Young and the Restless back in 1990 as Drucilla Barber Winters and left in 2007, which apparently is not what she actually wanted to do.
The Wrap reported Thursday that Sony and CBS have moved to dismiss Rowell's lawsuit, arguing her demands violate the First Amendment.
CBS Responds To Former 'The Young and the Restless' Star Victoria Rowell's Legal Actions
The site reported that in a memorandum in support of the motion filed in the United States District Court in New York, attorneys for CBS and Sony claim that Rowell's lawsuit is "a blatant attempt by Plaintiff to force her way back onto a daytime television soap opera, after she voluntarily resigned from her role in 2007.
"Plaintiff boldly asks this District Court to order Defendants to put her back on television, and she complains about why she believes Defendants have not already done so. Her allegations, however, fail to state a cognizable claim against both Sony Pictures and CBS and are barred as a matter of law. Thus, Plaintiff's claims fail in their entirety and should be dismissed," the memo also stated.
The attorneys for CBS and Sony have argued that the "Plaintiff's claims are barred by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution. Casting and script-writing decisions, such as those Plaintiff now complains, constitute protected free speech. Indeed, any order 'directing' Defendants to create a role or storyline on either Y&R or B&B for Plaintiff and cast Plaintiff, as she requests ... would constitute the Court compelling Defendants' speech, in clear violation of the First Amendment."
The Young and the Restless airs on weekdays at 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
