More than nine months after his abrupt dismissal from The Young and the Restless, actor Michael Muhney (Adam Newman) has commented for the first time on the rumors that claimed he was fired from Y&R for alleged improprieties.
In an interview with Australia's TV Week Soap Extra, Muhney denied claims that he made unwanted advances towards a costar and subsequently fondled her. Those allegations were first reported in January 2014 by celebrity tattle site TMZ.
"First of all, there is no one anywhere, of any official capacity, who ever made any of those allegations," Muhney said in the interview. "If there were, I would be the first person to come out and say, 'Hey, now, I've got to take you to court because what you've just said is lies and I have to sue you for libel and slander.'"
Muhney went on to say that he remained silent because, "I didn't want to be desperately screaming: 'I didn't do it!'"
The TMZ report came two weeks after Muhney announced that he'd been let go and amid outrage by fans who struggled to understand why the popular actor had been given his walking papers.
Per its long-standing policy, CBS did not issue any statement on why Muhney was let go.
Muhney also went on to reveal that had he not been fired, he would have left The Young and the Restless on his own.
"I remember sitting down in the final ten months of my tenure with the executive producer and saying, 'Things have to change. You guys are going to have to fire me or I'm going to have to quit.' I told them that several times," Muhney stated.
The Young and the Restless issued a casting call for the role of Adam Newman in March, but efforts to find a suitable replacement took months longer than anticipated. A second casting call was released in June.
In August, Muhney revealed on Twitter that "although things got very close," he would not be returning to The Young and the Restless. A few days later, CBS announced that former Passions star Justin Hartley had been tapped to play Adam.
Muhney joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in June 2009. In 2013, Muhney received a Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Lead Actor category.
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