Y&R: Shocking Role Recast

[Aback]

Exactly! Some people are so black and white when it comes to judging other people it's scary.

It also sounds as though MAB & Co. agreed with his decision and were ready to let him go. Of course this came from CE's statement, but still. They took 5 minutes to recast him. So this whole thing was blown out of proportion by Nelson, if you ask me.

[CSF]

You know, in my posts in the thread regarding him walking off set, I never came out and said I think he is a homophobe because we didn't have the whole story. I did say that I couldn't care less about his beliefs because he doesn't matter to me, but judging from what he has said in this "statement," I'm content with labeling him a homophobe because I believe that statement was weak.

When I read a bunch of rhetoric that says, "blah, blah, blah, I have lots of gay friends, blah, blah, blah, I'm being labeled a homophobe and I'm not, blah, blah, blah" I'm like WTF? Say how you really feel.

Than when I get to the bottom of his "statement" and he says:

That's when I lose all respect for him as a human being because he doesn't have the balls to come out and say "I'm against kissing another man!!!!" Therefore, whether he is against it or not, he has yet to state it and saying something like what I quoted above alludes to the idea that he was against kissing a man so he might as well be labeled a homophobe, a coward and a joke because he will never act again. I hope he enjoys the single parenting life because MAB and Paul Rauch are gonna tear him to shreds! I have no remorse for him. He made his bed... we all know the rest...

[KLN]

For the record, I don't think Branco is lying. I think he simply reported what he was told. If his sources were wrong about the finer details, then that's the issue -- but I don't think he was just out and out lying and making things up for the sheer hell of it.

[Rakesh]

I just re-read his statement for like the 5th time. I don't think CE wrote that. That's just the feeling I got when I read it.

[dragonflies]

I agree with detroitpiston, no it doesn't.

Hit the nail on the head!

[MTSRocks]

I'm most likely wrong, but could Engen possibly sue for slander?

At any rate, it's good that he issued a statement, and was able to tell his side of things.

[SteveFrame]

What is funny though - not you - but many who have posted on this did not believe a word Branco said and raked him over the coals when he reported what he did about a Days actress and Edward Scott. They could not believe it and refused to believe it. And they lambasted others for talking about Edward Scott based on the supposition that Branco reported.

Branco was raked over the coals for that one because it was about a person they liked.

Here is is easy to believe Branco because people want too. That is what it boils down too. People as I said initially want to beleive the worst. It is easier.

I did not say that Branco lied. It just boils down to whether you believe his sources or believe Engen.

In the end though no matter what is said people will believe only what they want too. Just as easy it was for people to believe Higley was easily the bad one and Scott the angel despite what Branco said. And remember even then Branco reported what his sources said but his commentary made it clear that he favoried Scott himself. Here his commentary makes it clear that he was against Engen. So that alone makes it suspect to me.

There are just way too many "IFS" in this situation.

And remember folks Engen can't come right out and say anything right now. There is still the threat of legal action. He has to make this as vague as possible until that threat is no longer there.

[Vanguardian]

I don't think he wrote it either and I only read it once.

[Sapounopera]

Of course it doesn't. But nobody wants the fighting to stop now. It's too soon.

[CSF]

Then why doesn't he grow a pair of balls and say that? He is tip toeing around it. He could have easily said, "I have been unhappy with the dark path Adam has been taking and I honestly am feeling conflicted, personally" but he didn't say that. He just says: "I deserve better than to be forced to do something that I don’t feel is right on many levels, and that should have nothing to do with the choices that other people make." Is he now saying being gay is a choice? He needs to explain himself more thoroughly.

What doesn't he feel is right? He needs to address that before he can no longer be labeled a homophobe! I've said it before and I'll say it again, actor's are public figures, and they are subject to scrutiny. If they don't want to be walking around with labels thrown at them if they care so much like Chris does, they have to address things clearly. As for him deserving better, he was a new-bee on Y&R and was lucky he was given as much material as he was. Ungrateful, yes, that he is. Unclear, yes, that he is too. Homophobe, well, he feels things are wrong on so many levels, so yes, he is a homophobe too because he never said "I find nothing wrong with kissing another man in ACTING."

[MarkH]

Wow. I am shocked he addressed this. There is interesting and confusing language here. One thing that is clear is that he has read ALL the major press reports about his departure, including the references to Catholic school, etc. So, he's seen all the information and misinformation that is out there.

Some things that made me think. I am going to assume every word he says is true and not self-serving, and interpret his words at face value.

The job has been a great challenge, and my hat is off to all my fellow actors who have mastered it so gracefully.

True -- I was not comfortable with many of the challenges they presented before me, but I put my head down and did my job.

This lends credence to the idea that he felt "over-matched" by the material...that he did not personally feel up to the task of playing Adam's recent beats (Heather, Estella, Ashley, Rafe, and others). He actually acknowledges that this may be a personal limitation as an actor. So, that may be the story.

It's kind of akin to the aspiring doctor who realizes he/she cannot tolerate blood and pus. Or it is kind of like the air traffic controller who realizes that he/she does not have the nerves to "push tin". In the end, we are all better served by this self-recognition.

Is it the kiss that was the last straw? We'll never know. But the point that seems to emerge from this pretty clearly is that it was NOT JUST the kiss. It was a compendium of things. Also, nothing in this quote suggests that his problem was the gay kiss. It could equally well have been the abusive, manipulative kiss.

He has got a ten-year old son. Maybe he didn't feel prepared to play the amoral "J R Ewing" or even amoral "American Psycho". Maybe he didn't want his little boy to see him in that role someday.

I felt generally unhappy about my contribution to the show, and had greater and greater difficulty making any sense of the challenges they were asking me to face. If that makes me a limited actor, then so be it.

This fascinates me. It really may be "politic", but it sure sounds like the doctor who realized they couldn't handle blood.

As a single father, with sole custody of a 10 year-old boy, this was neither a practical decision, nor was it an easy decision to make.

What if the story here is that he put his personal and family life -- his view of how to be a father and a role model to his son-- ahead of his professional life? Is that a bad thing? Not really, in my book. What if he wasn't afraid of playing opportunistically bisexual....but of playing evil. That might make him a lousy actor, but maybe a terrific dad.

Homosexuality is a quality of beingness: one of many qualities that make up the rich diversity that humanity expresses.

That sure sounds pretty open and tolerant. It definitely links up with his "Namaste" signoff.

I considered it part of the challenge and within my job description to do the best with whatever storyline was being written for me, as I was very fortunate to be getting a storyline in the first place.

I never stormed off the set

These two statements certainly suggest that he was in touch with reality, and not unprofessional. ("Storming off" seems to be an embellishment). Indeed, the quote that follows suggests a whole different spin on what went down....

These quote suggest he understood professionalism, and some of the stories being spread in the "press" are embellishments.

I didn't feel that decisions were being made in my best interests, personally or professionally.

"Personally"? Because it gave him anxiety not to be up to the material? Because he had to think about the role model he was providing his ten-year old? Or IS he worried about some stigma and his future employment.

This is one of the murkiest quotes in the piece because it is sort of hard to see what harm would be done to him professionally. In the post-Brokeback era, it's hard to understand what professional damage could have been done to him. And as a soap uber-villain, one would think he might actually gain professionally. So this part is a bit confusing.

I believe that as an actor, and as a human being, I deserve better than to be forced to do something that I don't feel is right on many levels, and that should have nothing to do with the choices that other people make. My visage and my craft were being utilized to tell a story that I wasn't inspired to tell.

He's right. Indeed the next quote implies his departure was mutual and agreed upon. In that case, he made a completely defensible, legal choice.

Ultimately, the producers were very understanding and amenable and I, in fact, worked until they told me they didn't need me anymore.

So, this implies, more than anything, that he did not storm off. It implies that he said he couldn't handle it, the producers agreed, and they found a replacement. That would explain the apparently 48-hour turnaround on recast. In other words, the recast had been in the works, and Engen didn't leave till the new guy was lined up.

In that case, he was the OPPOSITE of professional.

I'm inclined to believe this, because he would not have released a statement if he was still legally embroiled. Not unless he was STUPID, which I don't think he is. Therefore, this seems to be a legal parting of the ways.

I am sure that more of my colleagues would speak on my behalf if they too weren't afraid of the possible consequences, and I don't blame them for that.

This is a bit more confusing. If the show was "agreeable" and "accommodating", why would the rest of the cast be afraid to comment? This quote seems somewhat at odds with the previous one.

I have been branded a "homophobe" by several members of the press. This is, of course, absurd and many of my dearest friends are homosexuals who would be more than happy to speak on my behalf.

We have no reason to do anything but accept him at his word. The phrasing "friends are homosexuals" is odd. Most people would say "gay". Homosexuals is an increasingly antiquated word that describes a clinical detachment. But I'm probably just wordsmithing. It is, however, a slightly odd word choice.

But, what the heck. He apparently arranged an amicable parting, we have a recast...so who really cares anymore what he thinks about the gays?

Strength is measured by what we are willing to stand for, not by what we are willing to lie down and take.

Well, he's right. And if he did not irresponsibly storm off, but worked with the show to get a replacement...then he made a defensible choice, no? I'm still hooked on that ten-year old son. There is a LOT I'd give up or I'd refuse to do in the name of my son. That really does change a lot, for me.

[CSF]

No because slander is spoken. It would be libel because all of this has been printed for the most part, but he still has yet to come forward and say "I am not a homophobe, I found nothing wrong with kissing a man." He hasn't address the kissing the man accusation. Plus, he walked off set and quit. None of what is being said here has damaged his career. What will damage it is him quitting mid-contract. What MAB and Rauch say to other producers is going to be the final nail in the coffin.

[MarkH]

Well, he may also be under some orders not to spoil future story.

He may be barred from being that explicit.

[marceline]

It was a decent enough statement for me. The folks in Mayberry are just going to have to deal with it.

[detroitpiston]

Amen!