Everyone seems to be forgetting that ED asked to be let go if they weren't going to use her...correct? Or am I hallucinating?

Everyone seems to be forgetting that ED asked to be let go if they weren't going to use her...correct? Or am I hallucinating?

No. Both SOW and SOD says that she was fired.

SOW:

The Young and the Restless has fired Eileen Davidson (Ashley), who created the role of the beloved Abbott daughter in 1982.

"I've had a feeling for a long time," confides Davidson. "Even before Jerry (Douglas: ex-John). I was telling my husband. I was telling Peter Bergman (Jack). I told Don Diamont (Brad) at the Emmys in May that I thought my days were numbered. Everybody kept saying, 'You're crazy.'"

"I had a feeling the morning I found out," she says. "I actually called Lynn to talk about story, because I had a feeling. My contract is up in December, that's the big thing. I guess I should say that first, because people think this came out of the blue. So I knew that unless someone got behind the character, why keep her? Especially with the financial situation the way it is in daytime. It was shocking, but I wasn't blindsided."...

SOD:

In a shocking move, Y&R has axed Eileen Davidson (Ashley). "I wasn't really given an explanation except for, 'We're going to rest the character,'" says Davidson. "It just seem self-evident in a very weird way."...

I don't think Eric Braeden, Don Diamont, and Peter Bergman would speak out in the way that they have if it was her decision to leave. Instead of being upset of what has happened, they would have been supportive of ED's decision.