Victoria Rowell: "Debbi Morgan wanted to come to Y&R"

[DeeeDee]

Exactly.

[SFK]

Honestly, I'm not so sure that she even cares anymore. As I said earlier, she knows the game, she knows that what she's saying will upset a lot of people and will potentially hurt her chances of getting back on the show, but if she was confident in those chances to begin with she probably wouldn't be this vocally upset... And YET, stranger things have happened, I STILL wouldn't be surprised if the show rehired her someday. Fact is, she knows what she has meant to this show and she knows that they know that too. She knows that the audience is too smart to accept a sassy black female character to fill an unfillable void. Not that they won't accept another such character, but if TPTB have bait and switch in mind, they will fail. Bill Bell's legacy means too much to her to sit back and cackle as the show self-destructs, but she's not above an, "I told ya so."

The reason why this is such a hot button issue is because this is Y&R in particular. They had an outstanding reputation for their stories about African American characters and they continue to have a large black audience, yet they have stumbled along with their black characters in recent years as far as stories and casting decisions go. There are always going to be fans of color who will continue to watch their stories regardless of the number of blacks on screen (for years, there were none), while others will quit watching out of lack of interest or on principle. The point is, why is better minority representation such a difficult concept? It isn't. Look at how the business world has responded to the call of upwardly mobile young blacks and the hip-hop culture. The luxury car, jewelry, fur, and premium liqueur industries have ALL responded to this consumer demand. It's not about exploitation, it's about serving the public that's buying your product, it's about staying alive in this economy and building a foundation for a viable future. Why won't the soaps try this? And just throwing a couple of black faces on the screen is not enough either (why GL's later attempts didn't work for me, writing for black faces but not black people). And without good storytelling, we really have nothing. But hell, we can't even expect that for Caucasian characters anymore, so...

Forget Y&R Debbi, you are RIGHT where you belong... playing a front burner s/l that could have been given to any lead Caucasian actress, yet imbued with realistic shades of black life. Perfect.

[DeeeDee]

Yep.

Darius Malcolm, Nia's Karen & Eva's Tyra being three perfect examples.

[DeeeDee]

Exactly.

But that's ok.

Daytime & certain fans can continue with their bigotry cause only a handful of soaps left on the air & when they're gone it will be karma.

AMC has it's own problems especially when it comes to race.

The only difference between AMC & Y&R right now is the quality of its Black performers.

[alphanguy74]

SFK, I honestly think that you are hitting the nail right on the head when you talk about her "seeing herself on the same level" as others on the show. But I think because of the type of person she is, she assumes people dismiss her because she's black.. while I think there's a good chance that's true in SOME cases, I highly doubt that's true in the majority, this is liberal hollywood after all, not the break room at a Wal-Mart in the middle of Arkansas. She said once in an interview that she didn't bring cookies to the set and socialize, or whatever... meaning she didn't try to become a part of the "group", she just strutted around like a Diva and didn't develop camaraderie with her castmates. And alot of people don't like Divas with this attitude of self-importance. But lucky for her, anytime someone gives her grief in life, she can blame her color for it all.... and that relieves her of any personal responsibility in her own mind, for anything that goes wrong in her life. Sh!t happens, sometimes people don't get along, things go wrong in life.. it's that way with all of us, unless wer'e living in a beach party movie. But the problem here is that because she's black, nobody is allowed to be annoyed by her or call her a pain in the ass, even if she IS being one. But black folks are capable of being jackasses like all the rest of us, that's one universal human trait. But I do know that some people think Rowell walks around with rainbows coming out her butt and hs never been at fault or ever made one mistake in her entire life. I like to take a balanced view. So bottom line for me, I think the racial element DOES exist, but not in a LARGE part, because as I said... actors are a very liberal bunch. If she was working among trailer trash, my assessment would be quite different.

[DeeeDee]

No.

SOME are & some aren't.

The "liberal Hollywood" thing is SUCH a cliche.

The Brokeback Controversy & ongoing lack of roles (especially quality ones) for minorities & women attest to that.

[DeeeDee]

No she didn't.

What she said was she didn't come to work to socialize like some & preferred to let the work stand on its own.

Big difference.

Again. No.

A "lot of people" don't like Women (especially Minority Women) who are confident.

Right.

500+ years of systematic oppression for "race cards" & free meals at Denny's.

LMAO.

Spoken like a true bigot.

How convenient that "personal responsibility" only applies to putting "uppity" minorities in their respective places.

Before attempting to advise others on their faults try addressing your own bigotry first.

No.

You like to take the Breitbart view.

Racist, Bigoted & Classist.

The trifecta.

[Khan]

That's all well and good, but saying an African-American woman, actress or not, is "sassy," is crossing a line, IMO. Just as it is whenever someone marvels over how "well-spoken" any AA politician or military leader is.

[Soaplovers]

I agree that there is still racism in the world especially in hollywood in respect to race, gender, age, and sexual orientation. Has there ever been a contract role for Native american's on daytime soaps? I know there have been for latinos, blacks, and asians but have there ever been for one that is native American?

[ian]

[Gray Bunny]

That'll happen around the same time they hire a redheaded male for a leading role. And I don't mean strawberry-blonde or dark copper... nuh-uh, I mean truly flaming orange fiery carrot-top REDHEAD. Not that I necessarily *want* to see that onscreen, but it's about time my people be represented. Let's get a male Marcia Cross on daytime television!

[Soapsuds]

[EastMA2]

Thank god the general consensus agrees with me. VR is off the wall and a nut! Ok, she tells a story, but why not tell the WHOLE story? I've worked in human resources long enough to know that when 1 person thinks that everyone else is against them and is all out to get them, well, there is usually a reason why.

VR needs to tell the other side of the story. WHY does everyone at Y&R hate her? It's NOT because she is black. Nope, the reasons run deeper. VR is just a really nasty, negative, horrible person.

[DeeeDee]

*Yawn*

[ian]

On an unrelated note, this is why I also found Harry Potter to be unrealistic: a ginger with two friends? GMAFB