The Young and the Restless has been airing since 1973 and one former cast member who came on board in 1990 and left in 2007 is now suing CBS and Sony.

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Victoria Rowell portrayed the very popular Drucilla Barber Winters on the soap, but was ultimately let go in 2007.

Daytime Confidential reported Wednesday that the former soap star is in the process of suing CBS and Sony for rejecting her re-employment due to retaliation for her speaking out on needing to increase the presence of African Americans in soap operas. 

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Rowell is filing a federal complaint against CBS, Sony Pictures and other defendants claiming that she was denied re-employment on the highest rated daytime soap opera in the country due to her public and private complaints regarding the lack of diversity in front of and behind the camera on the show.

The former The Young and the Restless actress was the first African American female with a leading role on the CBS soap.

In her complaint she claimed she faced years of racial discrimination, which are thoroughly described.

During her time on the CBS soap, she won 11 NAACP Image Awards and received two Daytime EMMY nominations.

Then, starting in 2010 and continuing to date, Rowell has sought to return to the show or to its sister soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, but her attempts to re-join have been denied by those in charge of hiring at Sony and at Bell-Phillip Television Production Inc., with CBS's CEO allegedly pulling their strings.

Rowell's representation is from Washington, DC-based law firm Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, along with New York City-based counsel Valli Kane and Vagnini LLP and California-based law firm, Hadsell Stormer & Renick LLP for this case.

The Young and the Restless airs on weekdays at 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

Tags: The Young and the Restless CBS television Victoria Rowell