Eric Braeden Slams Former Y&R Star Eva Longoria for ‘Derogatory Remarks’ About Daytime-TV — Did He Overreact?
Things got hairy between The Mustache and onetime The Young and the Restless co-star Eva Longoria, in the wake of the latter’s reaction to a clip of her mid-2000s work on the CBS soap.
In the latest installment of HBO Max’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, the titular host about a third of the way in cued up a clip from Longoria’s two-and-a-half year run as Y&R‘s Isabella.
Longoria appeared caught off-guard by Wallace digging up said clip. Afterward, she let out a hearty laugh, then shared an anecdote about how Y&R was paying her so little at the time that she retained her job at a temp agency to make ends meet. (You can find a Twittered clip down below, or watch it right here on HBO Max, starting at the 8:15 mark.)
Eric Braeden — an eight-time Daytime Emmy nominee (and winner in 1998) for his iconic, decades-long run as Y&R‘s Victor Newman — loudly took issue with how Longoria reacted during the Who’s Talking segment.
In a series of Sunday night tweets, Braeden said, “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 [ABC’s Desperate Housewives]! You did one [Desperate Housewives episode] in 8-12 days, with mediocre but salacious dialogue! 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!!”
Called out by some for overreacting to how Longoria reacted to the Y&R clip and what she said afterwards, Braeden doubled down, tweeting that “the whole tenor of that segment was one of embarrassment about her stint in Y&R.” He also said that “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!'”
TVLine has reached out to Longoria’s reps for comment.
Do you think that Longoria came off as ashamed of her daytime-TV roots (which actually began with a blink-and-you-missed-it, non-speaking stint as a Brenda lookalike on General Hospital)? Or doth Braeden complain too much?
Watch the clip below (or on HBO Max at the 8:15 mark), and weigh in!
If… this is what made him so angry… I… #YR #EvaLongoria #ChrisWallace pic.twitter.com/wIblHvhRlS
— Johnathon (@soapwikijohn) March 20, 2023
I can see both sides of the issue.
There’s been an unfortunate opinion of daytime actors and daytime TV in general for decades. They write scripts months in advance which is why there are necessary re-casts, and they have to film a lot of content every day which is why you’re not always getting “A” effort in every scene.
But there have been people who used the medium to get their break and then moved on. Marisa Tomei, Julianne Moore, Bryan Cranston, Blair Underwood etc. Melissa George, Margot Robbie and Delta Goodrem for some Australian examples. I don’t think it is fair to say it “didn’t work out” for Eva Longoria when she is probably worth more than Eric Braeden, the biggest living male soap star.
Susan Lucci has done commercials mocking the over the top nature of soaps with evil twins and resurrections and I don’t think Braeden would dare attack her. It is not like Eva said she was embarrassed that Y&R is part of her resume, she just seemed grateful to have gotten a chance at primetime TV after that, something unfortunately very few people do. Rome Flynn and Kim Matula are really the only ones in recent memory.
I like Victor Newman being protective of his domain. I remember shortly after OLTL and AMC were cancelled Jesse Tyler Ferguson tweeted something to the extent of “Why are we just canceling these shows now?” He got rightfully blasted for it. But I don’t think this interview warranted that.
What Susan Lucci has done isn’t “mocking soaps,” but parodying them. That’s not the same as someone who has been on soaps having an “I can’t believe I was ever on a soap.”
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But yeah, it’s a bit of an overreaction on his part. I think she was more embarrassed about it being early in her career than the fact that she was on a soap.
Were we watching the same interview? Miss Eva was embarrassed, even said dumb actress. and looked like she wanted to duck when the Y&R clip was showed.
I have never heard of Susan Lucci trying to hide working in daytime. We all were happy when she won a much deserved Emmy. Never forget the bridge that brought you across or the hand that fed you.
Michael B Jordan was on All My Children!!
Doesn’t matter if you like soaps or not…they do a half or.full hour show 5 days a week.. very few days off (some holidays.) Obviously all the night shows are 30-60 mins a week!!! And while they may not get paid as handsomely as film or hit nighttime shows…they all seem to live pretty decent lives in LA no less. So they must be paid somewhat well.
I was told back in the day (80’s) that soap actors were paid for the scenes they were in and the pay rate varied depending on their time with the show. If an actor is only in one or two scenes a week that’s what they’re paid for. People might be under the impression if you don’t see the character for a few days the actor is still getting paid. I don’t know if they’re still doing it this way.
For most it is a combination of a guaranteed salary and then a pay per day.
That’s why if you see a party that spans 3-4 days they’ll say, “Oh, Quinn is upstairs getting ready” on Monday and you’ll see her in Tuesday’s episode…lol.
Lol
They still work really hard but btw, production on General Hospital is dark 16 weeks a year (to save money). So the actors never work more than about 5-6 weeks straight without having a couple of weeks off. Of course it’s super intense when the show is in production (shooting 140 pages of dialogue a day) but the actors don’t work 5 days a week due to their contracts and get 16 weeks off a year. I’m agreeing with you, it’s still hard work but they do get a ton of more time off than the golden age of daytime soap operas.
She did laugh about the clip, but she didn’t say anything terrible. I think he’s just fed up with people looking down on soap actors and she got the brunt of it.
well said George
Yes, he over-reacted. She said nothing that denigrates the work ethic or abilities of daytime soap actors, instead, she was relating how she needed to keep her higher-paying job so she hid that she had a side-job as an actress…. it was all about preserving the pay from the headhunter job, not about being embarrassed she acted. And imagine that you can be on TV, but still not get paid enough to quit being a head-hunter job?
I don’t think it was an over-reaction at all. Most actors who started on soaps are very thankful and appreciative for their time in daytime. Look at Shemar Moore, he sings Y&R’s praises every chance he gets. I thought Eva’s comments were very dismissive and as though she thinks she’s better than soaps. Sure, sometimes the acting is subpar, but they have a crazy work schedule and are constantly facing budget cuts by the networks.
I used to work at a TV station and people would assume high pay. Nope. The managers and sales people made decent money, but only the very top-tier (evening anchors) talent had decent salaries. It really was very awful pay for the amount of stress & pressure for the majority – always needing new stuff to get on air, fast turnarounds, etc. But because it’s a popular field for people to want to try to do, with new folks coming in, media companies abuse this. The worst was in 2008 when the pay was frozen due to economic hardship but then the station actually had record profits due political ads – how does that make sense? Not that any of the people doing the real work ever saw a bonus from that. TV is considered a glamorous job but the reality is often far different.
I think she was more embarrassed about how green she was back then. The only dismissive thing she said was from the perspective of non-actors, and nothing was specifically derogatory towards soap actors.
Moreover, anyone who has actually followed her career would know that she executive produced and starred in a show called Telenovela, and has produced and directed other shows that honor the genre.
This is the same actor who abruptly bailed on his recurring role as Robin’s dad on HIMYM simply because he felt he wasn’t receiving enough screentime/dialogue nor was he being paid the big bucks. It’s all well documented, folks. The producers and HIMYM stars were all overjoyed when consummate professional and much loved Ray Wise stepped in last minute to assume the role. Truly a massive upgrade! Braeden is a mean-spirited windbag and Longoria is intelligent and lovely.
Sometimes I wonder if he’s a high-functioning alcoholic.
It sounds like he over reacted, but it’s probably because many actors that got their start of daytime TV try to avoid discussing it like it’s beneath them. However, it doesn’t seem like she insulted daytime actors by saying she needed to supplement her salary.
I like Eva Longoria very much but I too get miffed when actors who’ve either downplayed their time in daytime or dismissed the medium as not being worthy of their time and talent. If anything I believe it to be one of the hardest of genres to work in. You’ve got a week’s worth of lines to learn in a matter of days along with shooting all day everyday depending on the storyline. I remember the “Isabella” character and Longoria was good and I’d love for her to appreciate how the role gave her exposure and even a leg up to be where she one day dreamed of being.
But she never mentioned daytime. She said she did not want her clients to know she was an ACTRESS.
To be fair, US soaps are notoriously awful all round.
I don’t think she meant it as a dig, even if it came off that way; not everyone can be as magnanimous about their soap roots as Shemar Moore or Julianne Moore (both of whom express nothing but gratitude for their time in the genre).
Did anyone stop to think that maybe the reason she was laughing was more embarassment at seeing herself from 20 years ago in her first acting role, and not that it was a soap opera? How many people cringe seeing themselves when they were younger?
Also, nothing she said was negative about the show. The dumb actress thing wasn’t because she was on a soap opera or being embarrassed, it was because of the perception of actors in general. He completely overreacted and how many more people have watched the clip and talked about it because of his rant?
I can imagine it’s really frustrating to be often referred to as “just a daytime TV actor,” so I understand why Erc Braeden would be frustrated. However, I don’t think Eva was intending to be malicious about anything she said. Actors often say they hate watching their work, so Eva’s reaction to being told they had a clip of her early work seems natural. And if she wasn’t being paid enough on the show to be able to make a decent living, she was doing what she felt like she had to do to get by! I think her comment about “having her degree” could have been what irritated him, that it sounded like she thought she was above them having a degree? Hard to tell, awkward situation all the way around.
This is part of the actor community that I hate. Stage actors look down their noses at film actors, who look down their noses at primetime tv actors, who look down their noses at daytime TV actors, who look down their noses boice actors, who look down their noses at commercial actors. Truth is, these are not all the same craft, and it takes skill to do any of them well enough to make a living, and a lot of the people who make fun of the other guy couldn’t even do that job well.
Eva can laugh at her work and her time there, and that is fine. But I do get how some actors would get tired of being looked down upon, despite working steadily for decades in a field where anyone is lucky to get work at all. This is why I hate awards shows. Snotty, uppity people congratulate themselves while not even opening the tapes of shows that they deem to be so obviously beneath them. I own an old Buffy Emmy submission tape that remains unopened and reminds me of this point all the time.
If you watch the clip, she says she kept her role a secret from her headhunter colleagues and clients because she was worried she’d be perceived as a “dumb actress.” She literally never once mentions the quality or work ethic of soap actors. Major overreaction from someone who is already known to be not very nice.
Thank you! He does not come off looking good here. Meanwhile she has had a very successful career outside of daytime. What has he done 2 movies? Let’s see if he’s man enough to admit he overreacted because I doubt she gets an apology from him. I hope she responds to this!
It’s a little ironic that he’s up in arms about Eva disrespecting the show, when Doug Davidson – the person she’s in the clip with – has been thoroughly mistreated by Y&R. Anyway, I thought her laughing about the clip was in jest, like how many actors react when they’re shown their early work on a talkshow. I didn’t see it as dismissive or disrespectful to her soap experience at all
IMO, he overreacted. She has every right to speak on what she felt she needed to conceal for her clientele. Eric can have a seat because it has clearly escaped him that Eva has moved on and is a successful actress, producer and director. She is working hard to bring diverse content to television. I think he owes her an apology. She won’t get it but he owes her one.
Complete overreaction. I take her reaction as laughter at her own acting. There many actors, including Oscar/Emmy winning ones, who refuse to watch their own work because they can always find something wrong with it.
Or maybe she was laughing at her past self. Who doesn’t laugh at their past self? I frequently look back at things I did personally and professionally and think “What I was thinking?!?” Or “I was so full
of myself” And I have lived a pretty put together life.
Maybe, maybe what he mad about her comment about hiding from clients that she actress and he took it that she was hiding the fact that she was on a soap opera. Which is not what she said. She didn’t want clients to know she was an actor because she was concerned they would think she wasn’t to them the client.
Finally, it sounded like prior to Y&R, she had a job that allowed her to have a comfortable lifestyle, more comfortable than Y&R only was able to provide. Knowing how fickle acting job can be, I don’t blame her for keeping her side hustle.
Wow, that was a mess. An aggressive, out of place mess.
Fine to be upset, but to trash her publicly is the height of bad manners. She said nothing about him.
Badly done, sir. Badly done.
This from a man who NO ONE in Hollywood hasn’t said he was an a-hole.
And asides from a brief cameo on HIMYM, what has HE bothered to do outside of daytime television?
Stop proving you’re the same type of individual as Victor.
Everyone can’t wait to dance on his grave on the show, you give out the same personal energy every time you’re spoken about.
Don’t disagree at all with the tenor of your post. But in fairness he does have two seasons of starring in The Rat Patrol to his credit.
Eric Bearden had a very brief role and very few lines in “Titanic” but he’s never been the major movie star he purports to be. He’s little more than an angry blowhard. Major over-reaction by a little man.
I remember him playing the villain in a very bad movie called the Ambulance. random line from movie You’re gonna kill me, aren’t you?
The Doctor : Why, yes, I eventually I will. But I promise you… you’re gonna be in perfect health before you die.
Has he ever watched “Friends”?
Joey: “Okay, some tricks of the trade… Now, I’ve never been able to cry as an actor, so if I’m in a scene where I have to cry, I cut a hole in my pocket, take a pair of tweezers, and just start pulling… Or let’s say I want to convey that I’ve, uh, just done something evil. Well, that would be your basic ‘I’ve-got-a fishhook-in-my-eyebrow-and-I-like-it’… No? Okay, let’s say I’ve just gotten bad news. Well, all I do there is try and divide 213 by 13… And that’s how it’s done. Great soap opera-acting tonight, everybody! Class dismissed.”
Overreact much?
Eva is allowed to feel embarrassed when a clip from 20 years ago is sprung on her and allowed to not be proud of her early work and share the fact that Soaps just don’t pay well enough when starting out.
Her struggle was not yours!
Obviously he has a different experience, and I’m not surprised since he’s a man and was likely able of living off of what he made from the start.
I don’t care how old you are, how long you have been on the show or how respected you are, you were wrong, sir.
I’ve certainly lost respect for YOU, not her.
Wow, what a wild over reaction! It seems like he is feeling insecure and read way too much into her comment. Like someone else mentioned, a lot of actors will laugh when they are surprised on a talk show with an old clip. She mentioned her salary, noting even remotely about her time on the show, the hours worked, etc. His comments are way over the top and ridiculous.
Seems personal. Was he sitting on this fury for years and saw this as an opportunity to spout off?
Very odd and unnecessary.
I think he overreacted. She didn’t seem to talk down her time on the show nor did she speak badly of soaps. Unfortunately, the American general public tends to look down on actors as being dumb, so I can see why she wouldn’t want her clients knowing that she was also acting – it’s possible that her clients might also have felt that she wouldn’t give her work with them her all if she was also working as an actress, so keeping the two things separate makes sense.
I thought her witchy laugh was very dismissive! She could have said something positive about being grateful that Y & R gave her a start in acting!
The laugh was a red-faced reaction for playing a batcrazy psycho in her first ever acting role 20 years ago.
The question she was asked immediately at the end of the clip, was about her simultaneously working as a head-hunter – and that’s what she responded to, before Wallace moved on to the next question.
There was no effort to defend or rationalize daytime soaps, because there was nothing here that attacked them to begin with.