Y&R Star Eric Braeden Lays Into Eva Longoria for 'Derogatory Remarks About Daytime Actors'
Eric Braeden is calling out Eva Longoria's recent "derogatory remarks" about soap opera stars.
The Emmy Award-winning actor, who has starred as Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless since 1980, came to the defense of daytime actors in a series of tweets following Longoria's recent appearance on Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?
"EVA LONGORIA: you just made derogatory remarks about daytime actors!" wrote Braeden, 81, on Sunday. "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 show in 8-12 days, with mediocre but salacious dialogue!"
He continued, "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!!"
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 show in 8-12 days, with mediocre but salacious dialogue! Our actresses
— Eric Braeden (@EBraeden) March 19, 2023
Longoria, 48, opened up about her experience playing Isabella Braña on the CBS soap opera — which is in the midst of its 50th anniversary celebrations — during an interview with journalist Chris Wallace that aired Sunday.
Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty; Karwai Tang/WireImage
"When I got Young and the Restless, it didn't pay enough for me to live off being an actor. So I continued being a headhunter and Young and the Restless," she recalled. "And I would hide the fact I was on Young and the Restless to my clients, because they didn't want, like, a dumb actress handing their accounts."
"And one time one of my clients was like, 'You look like a girl I've seen on a soap opera.' And I go, 'No, I don't know who that is,'" she recalled. "I was like the opposite of a publicist's dream. I was like, 'Don't tell anybody I'm on that show' because I was still making more money on my day job."
If… this is what made him so angry… I… #YR #EvaLongoria #ChrisWallace pic.twitter.com/wIblHvhRlS
— Johnathon (@soapwikijohn) March 20, 2023
While some fans defended the Flamin' Hot director in the comment section, Braeden responded that "the whole tenor of that segment was one of embarrassment about her stint in Y&R."
He added, "When people who have not made it in the [daytime TV] medium or have no idea what it is about say pejorative things about it, I get pissed off! Because I'm one of few people in it who have done it all, from theater to films to loads of nighttime guest star roles! I know what I'm talking about!'"
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The Young and the Restless airs weekdays at 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS and can be streamed on Paramount+.
