14 DAY TRIAL // Fans are still very upset that Michael Muhney has been let go from the hit CBS soap opera “The Young and the Restless,” on which he played Adam Newman since 2009, but a new report indicates that he wasn’t fired over creative differences or money issues, but because he’d been harassing a female co-star.
His final episode is still to air (it will be on the air on January 30), but word of his departure got out in December. The news was confirmed by the actor on Twitter but he did not say anything about the reason behind the decision.
He did say though that he planned to take the time off to be with his family (he has a wife and 3 kids), because their well-being was the most important thing for him right now.
Considering the claims made by insiders speaking to TMZ, Muhney had very good reason not to say anything about why he was fired from the show because, allegedly, he’d been harassing 20-year-old co-star Hunter King (who plays Summer) for a very long time.
He groped her on at least a couple of occasions and, the report notes, it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back because she finally went to their bosses and complained of his behavior.
“She went to higher-ups and complained recently Muhney had fondled her breasts on 2 occasions – and she said both were unsolicited and unwanted. […] Muhney – who is married with 3 kids – had been a problem on the set for a long time, allegedly bullying and harassing Hunter and others,” TMZ writes.
Muhney probably imagined that the story behind his firing would eventually get out in the press because, right after it happened, he told Canada’s Huffington Post that he was to blame for it.
“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 at the time, as cited by TV Guide.
Right now, many fans of the legendary soap opera are still threatening to boycott it if producers don’t bring Muhney back.