‘The Young And The Restless’ Star Eric Braeden Speaks Out After Show’s Video On Legacy

Soap vet Eric Braeden isn’t thrilled with the direction The Young and the Restless is headed, and he’s not shy about sharing his thoughts on social media.

Recently, Y&R shared a touching video to its social media with some of the cast members who explained what the show’s legacy has meant to them.

Peter Bergman (Jack) spoke first, and he explained how much he loved that so many of the show’s actors essentially grew up on the show. Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki) talked about children growing up watching the soap with their mothers even if some of the topics go over their heads. Meanwhile, Camryn Grimes, who currently portrays Mariah and once portrayed Cassie, discussed the importance of her close relationship with fans.

Then, Jordi Vilasuso, who portrays newcomer Rey in Genoa City, also spoke. While Vilasuso is a newcomer to Y&R, he’s not a newcomer to daytime, and he’s had a long history acting on soaps including roles on Guiding Light, All My Children, and Days Of Our Lives. Some fans, however, didn’t appreciate hearing from him when he admitted that before he read for the role, he’d never even watched an episode. While that’s okay for a new actor the show, some viewers didn’t like hearing that detail in a video about the show’s legacy. However, Vilasuso provided insight into how strong the legacy is even for somebody who’s never watched before.

Finally, Joshua Morrow (Nick) described the show as a “monster,” but he meant it in a good way.

Ultimately, because of the mass exodus from Y&R this year, fans didn’t respond to the video as the show probably hoped they would. Several pointed out how veterans like Doug Davidson (Paul) and Eileen Davidson (Ashley) left the show this year. They’re just two of many who are no longer included in the storylines, and it’s a noticeable change.

Follower, Joy Mathis summed up many of the thoughts with her reply, “When I see the way an amazing loyal actor like @DougDavidsonYR has been let go, I wonder how you dare to talk about #YR legacy. And what is Rey doing in that video?”

Eric Braeden, who portrays Victor Newman, took to Twitter to express his thoughts on the legacy video. He tweeted, “They asked WHO about what the Y&R legacy meant to them??? How about asking Jess Walton [Jill], Tracey Bregman [Lauren], Dougie Davidson, Eileen Davidson, Christian Le Blanc [Michael], Greg Rikart [Kevin], Chrystal Khalil [Lily], Lauralee Bell [Christine], Mishael Morgan [Hilary], etc!!” Shortly after, in the comments, Braeden added, “And Kristoff [Neil] has been a VITAL part of Y&R.”

In another comment, Braeden added, “Peter is one of the most important characters on the show, so is Melody, obviously and, of course, Joshua! They were, rightfully, represented in that tweet about what people thought in regard to the Y&R legacy!!!!”

We asked some of our cast about the #YR legacy, and now it’s your turn! Tell us what it means to you. ?? pic.twitter.com/aiC6pWFQz4

— Young and Restless (@YandR_CBS) October 19, 2018

Rey actor, soap vet Jordi Vilasuso, also retweeted Braden’s tweet with a reply. He wrote, “@YandR_CBS asked ME, and I was honored to give it. My words were never intended to disregard or disrespect the truly valuable cast that has worked in building its legacy throughout the years. My hope is to honor it in the same way these legends have & continue to do.”

Abhi Sinha, who portrays Ravi and is on recurring and hasn’t been included in the current storyline, retweeted Braeden’s tweet and added, “Like I said before – When there is a terrible leader at the helm, a mass exodus usually follows.”

Because head writer and executive producer Mal Young is at the helm, it sounds as if Sinah is referring to Young. Recently, the Inquisitr reported that Sinah spoke out about his lack of a storyline in a strongly worded post on Instagram. Since that report, the actor reworded his post slightly to take out discussion about a possible pending lawsuit.

Many of the show’s followers believe there’s a possibility that the show may be on its last legs and the powers that be are allowing storylines that rewrite history in order to lose viewers so that the network can justify canceling the soap and putting out something less expensive to produce in its place. Certainly, there is plenty of unrest in the show with Doug Davidson, Eric Braeden, and Abhi Sinha speaking out over the past several weeks about losing characters left and right. Actors have left in droves this year, which hurts.

However, those who are new to the show are doing the best jobs they can do under difficult circumstances with angry fans. So far, Vilasuso is portraying Rey wonderfully, and the Rosales family fits in reasonably well with the remaining cast with intriguing storylines.