'Young & the Restless' Star Eric Braeden Slams Eva Longoria's Comments About Soap Series

By Daniel S. Levine

The Young and the Restless star Eric Braeden was not happy with Eva Longoria's comments about her time on the series. Longoria, who just finished making her feature film directing debut with Flamin' Hot, was asked about the experience on HBO Max's Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?. Braeden was offended by Longoria revealing that she didn't want people to know she was on a soap opera while working for a temp agency.

During the interview, Wallace showed Longoria a clip from her time on Y&R. She laughed after the clip, as Wallace asked her if it was true that she was working for a temp agency while filming the show. Since it was early in her career and she had a bachelor's degree, she did take a job at a temp agency because Y&R didn't pay her enough to live in Los Angeles. Longoria recalled how she wouldn't let clients know she was also an actress.

"I would hide the fact that I was on Young and the Restless to my clients because they didn't want like a dumb actress handling their accounts," Longoria recalled. When one client recognized her from the soap, she pretended she wasn't on the show. "I was like the opposite of a publicist's dream," she said. "I was like, 'Don't tell anybody I'm on that show!' Because I was still making more money on my day job."

"EVA LONGORIA: you just made derogatory remarks about daytime actors," Braeden tweeted 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!"

"Our actresses would run rings around you!! And they did then," Braeden continued. "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!!"

Some of Braeden's fans thought he may have overreacted, but actor dug in his heels. "Come on now, the whole tenor of that segment was one of embarrassment about her stint in Y&R and HOUSEWIVES! What did you not get about that?" he wrote to one Twitter user.

Others wanted Longoria to apologize, but Braeden said that's not what he was looking for. He just wants daytime actors to be shown more respect. "She doesn't need to apologize! I simply reacted to hearing this while watching CNN and CHRIS WALLACE, who I respect," Braeden wrote. "But when the soap medium is being denigrated by anyone, I'll go after them! This is the hardest medium for an actor, PERIOD!!! Be effing proud of it!!!"

After Longoria moved to Hollywood, her first gis were bit parts on Beverly Hills, 90210 and General Hospital before she was cast in the recurring role of Isabella Brana on Y&R. She appeared in 148 episodes before leaving in 2003. The next year, she was cast as Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives, and the series made Longoria an overnight star. In recent years, Longoria has focused on producing and directing. Her next project, Flamin' Hot, will become the first movie simultaneously released on Disney+ and Hulu on June 9.

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