Eden Riegel (Heather Stevens) has been let go from The Young and the Restless, but the Emmy-winning actress didn't hear the news from the show. Riegel learned of her dismissal after the news was reported on the Internet.
Earlier today, Soaps In Depth reported that Riegel had been let go -- along with a handful of other stars. The move to trim the show's cast comes as the CBS soap has hit record lows in the Nielsen ratings. Fans jumped on the report, and asked Riegel if the report was true.
"It's not for me to say they're wrong but I have not been told of my departure," Riegel said of the Soaps in Depth report that she'd been fired, noting that it would be "embarrassing" if the magazine had found out that she'd been let go before she did.
Apparently there were some phone calls made or emails exchanged, because Riegel took to Twitter again a short time later with a decidedly different message.
"Oops. I take it back. Apparently my run on Y&R is soon coming to an end," Riegel clarified. "It was a fun ride!"
That run lasted just about 18 months. Riegel taped her first Y&R scenes in March 2010. Prior to that, Riegel appeared as a contract player on All My Children from July 2000 through February 2005. In 2005, Riegel won a Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Younger Actress. The actress also returned for short-term appearances on AMC from 2005 through a one-day appearance in January 2010.
"I have to say I was a wee bit bummed. But looking at [my son] Jack makes it hard to be down about anything," Riegel added.
"[A]ctually, the way that it happened, in that it was so public, sort of took the onus off of me," Riegel told Soap Opera Digest. "I didn't then have to go to Twitter to say, 'Hey, I have bad news.' Everybody in the world knew before me! So, instead, I got to skip right to the, 'Hey, we love you, we're so sorry,' part, which is the more fun part anyway, people getting all up in arms: 'How can they do this to you? We're on your side!' And that's always nice to hear."
News of Riegel's ouster comes on the same day as two other Y&R stars. Tristan Rogers (Colin Atkinson) revealed his character would be exiting the canvas, and insiders say that Darius McCrary (Malcolm Winters) is also leaving.
The Young and the Restless does not comment on contracts.
