‘The Young and the Restless’: Eric Braeden Fires Back at Eva Longoria’s ‘Derogatory’ Remarks About Daytime Actors
Eric Braeden has played Victor Newman on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless for over 40 years. The actor has won many awards for his work on the show. But before he tried out for the part of Victor Newman, Braeden didn’t even know what a soap opera was. Since then, though, he has grown to love and respect daytime TV.
And while he greatly respects the soap opera business, Braeden is aware that soaps aren’t always seen in the best light. As such, the soap veteran took offense with former Y&R co-star Eva Longoria’s reaction to a clip of her work on the CBS soap.
Eva Longoria says being on ‘Y&R’ didn’t pay enough
Longoria started her acting career on The Young and the Restless playing Isabella Braña. In a March 20 interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace, the Flamin’ Hot star was shown a clip of one of her most memorable moments from the CBS soap opera. After the clip ended, Longoria admitted that the pay for being a soap opera actor was so low that she had to supplement her income by working as a headhunter at a temp agency.
She said, “When I got The Young and the Restless, it didn’t pay enough for me to live off being an actor.”
Longoria then went on to explain that she would hide being a soap opera actor because she didn’t think her clients would want a “dumb actress” handling their accounts. She continued, “I was like, don’t tell anybody I’m on that show. Because I was, you know, still making more money on my day job.”
‘The Young and the Restless’ star Eric Braeden fires back at Eva Longoria’s remarks
Braeden was quite offended by Longoria’s response in the interview. In a series of tweets, the soap opera veteran wrote, “Eva Longoria, you just made derogatory remarks about daytime actors! You simply weren’t good enough to survive the pressures of this medium! You were very lucky to get on that ‘housewife’ show! You did one [episode] in 8-12 days, with mediocre but salacious dialogue! Our actresses would run rings around you!! And they did then!! From Robert De Niro to whoever they all are, many of them started in the medium you denigrate! It shows a complete lack of class!!”
And after being criticized for exaggerating his reaction to Longoria’s comments, Braeden wrote, “The whole tenor of that segment was one of embarrassment about her stint in Y&R.” He went on to remark that it pisses him off when people who have not succeeded in the daytime-TV medium or who are unfamiliar with it make derogatory comments about it.
Eric Braeden believes daytime TV is the ‘hardest job for an actor’
This wasn’t the first time the Y&R star has voiced his opinion on soap opera actors being disrespected. After decades in the entertainment industry, Braeden believes that daytime soap actors are some of the most talented and hardworking people in the business.
In May 2022, the 81-year-old appeared on General Hospital star Maurice Benard’s State of Mind podcast, where the two addressed several issues. When the conversation got to The Young and the Restless, Braeden expressed his strong views about soap opera acting.
When asked how it felt to have the same job for so long, Braeden explained that he had to work hard to accept the medium. “When I came in, at first, I loathed it,” he said. “The amount of dialogue, the speed at which they worked, and the lack of respect.”
The Y&R vet said he wants daytime actors and the general public to appreciate the work that soap stars do. “What you and I do on a daily basis is the hardest job for an actor in this town,” he told Benard.
Do you think Longoria came across as being embarrassed by her daytime TV past, or did Braeden overreact?
