The only thing crazier than The Young and the Restless' Kelly Andrews is the fact that the storyline in which she tortured Peter Bergman's Jack ended with the character's portrayer, Cady McClain, having to exit the show. But if you think McClain is bitter about her final months with the CBS soap and the way she was written off, think again: she has taken to social media to give her true thoughts about how her Y&R departure went down.
"A couple people on Twitter have pointed out to me that they think I am the instigator of some kind of 'rage against Y&R,'" the actress, who last appeared on the show in May, wrote on Facebook. "The issue seems to be that they think I am upset at Exec Producer Jill Phelps because I shared she gave me the news my character was going to die via email. These fans seem to think I have publicly stated that I am angry at Jill for this, and that I should stop complaining. The fact is, however, I've said nothing of the sort."
McClain goes on to share one of her own quotes that was printed in a popular soap magazine. "Here is what I said, word for word, in an early June issue of Soap Opera Digest," she begins. "The script where Kelly hits Jack with a baseball bat was the one that set all my alarms... off. You just can't hit 'Jack,' of all people, in the head with a baseball bat and get away with it! I immediately wrote Jill Phelps and asked, 'Am I getting killed off?"' and she wrote back, 'I'm so sorry, yes.' Apparently, she had just found out herself. She was really sorry to have to tell me in an email but didn't want me wondering until she could see me in person the next day. I told her I understood, that it was 'just business' and I didn't hold it against her. I'm sure it wasn't easy for her to have to tell me that way. I was very proud to be on Y&R, so when I got Jill's email, I had to sit down right where I was. Plop. You know, it's never easy to get this kind of news, but it is the reality of the business. What's most important is that I did all I could to give justice to 'Kelly's' send off and give the audience the best ride possible. That's what I could control and that's hopefully what I did."
In addition, the actress re-quotes another thing she said in the same issue of SOD regarding her experience playing Kelly. "Honestly, when I read the first 'Misery' script, I felt like the 'Kelly' I created was no longer there," she reminds readers. "I realize now that was part of my heartbreak. I loved her and she was g-o-n-e gone. The 'new, crazy Kelly' was very extreme, but I knew [I] had to make it work or the story was going to crash and burn. The only thing that made sense in my actor's mind was that she was now a completely different person. Ultimately, it became a great acting challenge. Looking back, I realize I got to play two very different characters on the same soap in one year. I gave them both 100%, and I'm glad I did. I can say that there is something very beautiful that happens right toward the very end, where a little bit of the 'old Kelly's' fragility comes to the foreground. I appreciated having the opportunity to do that to round out her journey. But her final exit is pretty intense. She becomes quite a force of nature, which was fun to play. Hey, at least I didn't go out with a whimper!"
McClain then ends her Facebook message on a positive note with the quote, "That's all I have to say about that. ONWARD!"
In case you missed it, here is a Red Carpet interview with Cady McClain conducted by Soap Central's Dan J Kroll at the 2015 Daytime Emmys -- after McClain taped her final Y&R scenes.
What do you think about the way McClain has publicly handled her Y&R exit? What do you think of the way Kelly was written off of Y&R? What do you think of the way Kelly was written off of Y&R? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
