The Young and the Restless spoilers tease that Adam Newman (most recently played by Justin Hartley) recast reports, if proven true, will polarize Y&R’s audience once again. The adult version of this character has been played by three men to-date. If a new actor becomes the fourth Adam, certain segments of society (who aren’t actually pure soap fans) will claim outrage and pronounce doom for CBS’ top-reigning steamer. Meanwhile, the mass majority of people who value soap operas will keep watching.
The transition from Chris Engen to Michael Muhney did spark a supposed controversy, if it can be called that. A minor political element claimed that Engen opted to voluntarily leave the role because of the type of work he was given at that time. Adam temporarily claimed to be romantically interested in Rafe Torres (Yani Gellman) in 2009.
Those who promoted themselves as defenders chose to believe that Engen was morally unbalanced. The actor later explained that he wasn’t delivering performances that met his own expectations, rather than having chosen to leave the show because of specific scenes he was asked to play.
Certain manipulative personality types who claim high ground on issues of tolerance often use character assassination as a form of intimidation to promote whatever their agenda of the moment is. Such was the case with those who decided that they needed to open their mouths about Engen leaving his job.
Engen’s exit was referenced because creatures from the same lagoon reappeared after Michael Muhney was fired. These non-heroes threatened to “…never watch Y&R again!” if Muhney wasn’t rehired. Separately, other real life characters, who claimed to support Muhney, defamed executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and Hunter King (Summer). Non-truth-tellers invented stories about both women. Those anonymous attackers were never noble as they had zero facts in-hand.
Justin Hartley’s hire proved to be smart. Like Muhney, he created a truly compelling edition of Adam. Engen’s assessment of his own work was clearly valid, as his version of Adam was often flat. He wasn’t terrible, but didn’t distinguish himself through that role. However, Engen was only working with the scripts that he was given.
The same digital flash mobs will be waiting if Y&R does resurrect Adam again but uses a recast rather than Michael Muhney. They’ll scratch old sores as they thumb their digital devices in exaggerated rage.
Fighting some phantom cause through the Internet makes no one special, including this scribe. So this piece was created to preemptively remind everyone that those who don’t value Y&R’s actors (both past and present) and all behind-the-scenes employees don’t appear to be interested in keeping this genre alive. No, they’re actually using the human beings who earn their living through soap operas as pawns in closed-minded games.
Engen was a decent actor. Muhney and Hartley were terrific. All reasonable minds, which must represent the vast majority of all entertainment consumers everywhere, will collectively wish any new Adam Newman well. Yes, everyone has the right to offer opinions about any topic.
But only certain individuals believe that it’s okay to defame those who work in the entertainment industry as though they were merely fictional characters on their screens. CDL is a leading source for everything linked to The Young and the Restless. Check back regularly for Y&R spoilers and news!
