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Michael Muhney Will Not Return to “Young and the Restless,” Finally Sets the Record Straight

The rumors about his firing were false, but he’s definitely not coming back

Aug 15, 2014 16:38 GMT  ·  By
Michael Muhney was Adam Newman on “The Young and the Restless” from 2009 until 2014
   Michael Muhney was Adam Newman on “The Young and the Restless” from 2009 until 2014

Since January 2014, when Michael Muhney’s last appearance on “The Young and the Restless” as Adam Newman aired, fans of the time-enduring soap opera have been hoping for his return, refusing to believe that he had been fired because he had groped and harassed co-star Hunter King.

They were right to believe in his innocence – but it’s time they stopped hoping Muhney will return to the show as Adam. That boat has sailed.

For the first time since the scandal broke, the actor is breaking his silence on social media and, in no uncertain terms, addresses the rumors of his firing and, at the same time, reports that he will be back on the soap opera.

These reports picked up traction in the blogosphere in May, when insiders told the tabs that they had seen Muhney on the “Y&R” set, which must have meant that he had been asked back.

That, combined with talk that the show’s producer Jill Farren Phelps was in hot waters over the firing and that she was being forced by network bosses to bring Michael back no matter the cost, gave fans fresh hope: perhaps he will be asked back and perhaps he will accept the offer.

There was some talk to see if he could come back on the show but, unfortunately, it did not lead to anything positive. So, to the disappointment of the many fans who have been waiting for good news all along, Michael says the “Young and the Restless” chapter in his life is closed for good.

He also denies that the reason he was fired was his groping of a younger co-star, Hunter King, calling it a “salacious” rumor.

Said rumor actually originated with celebrity e-zine TMZ, which ran an insider’s account of what happened to get Muhney booted off the show: apparently, King went to the bosses with a formal complaint about how he had groped her breasts and harassed her on at least two occasions.

She also demanded that they fire Michael or she’d go public with her scandalous account, and they allegedly chose to indulge her. Because they complied, she never filed a police report.

That was the unofficial story. The official one, which came with the announcement that Muhney would be off the show in January, was actually a statement from Michael himself, in which he took his share of the blame for being axed.

“I saw it coming, and I didn't see it coming. I suspected it could happen, but I didn't think that it really would. Part of me feels this is because I've always been outspoken, and sometimes I've been too outspoken. Sometimes I've walked around with a big backpack full of hubris. That is entirely on me,” he said.

Eric Braeden, who plays Victor Newman, said in an interview later that Muhney tried to be the “young lion” replacing the “old lion,” hinting that he gave him lip about stuff he should have “kept his mouth shut.” So it could be that Muhney was referring to this when he said he’d been “too outspoken” for his own good.

Here are Michael’s tweets on the topic, which are also his final goodbye to “The Young and the Restless.”