Y&R’s Allison Lanier Speaks Out on Summer’s Mistrust of Claire

Young and Restless‘ Summer Newman, played by Allison Lanier, can relate to the nightmare some people have when they feel no one can hear them cry out. Lanier is talking to Soap Hub about Summer’s legitimate concerns about Harrison and Claire given recent events.

Am I the Crazy One

Sure, Claire (Hayley Erin) was kidnapped by crazy Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) and she was innocent in the abduction of little Harrison (Redding Munsell). But does that mean Claire should be hired as Harrison’s nanny now that they’re both safe and sound? Lanier’s Summer doesn’t think so.

Lanier said that Summer has lived out “every parent’s worst nightmare — to have your child be missing. All the unknowns.” Summer and Harrison’s dad, Kyle (Michael Mealor), had been doing a good job of coparenting despite their marriage dissolving. “They’ve hit their stride as a team,” the actress adds. However, they disagree about Claire.

“Summer feels that Claire is just unwell,” Lanier says. While the Newmans all seem to be willing to move on from the fact that Claire came to Genoa City under false pretenses and helped Jordan kidnap Nikki and re-ignite her alcoholism, Summer simply has not.

“Summer doesn’t feel that Claire has any business being around a child alone — especially her own son,” says Lanier.

While Harrison has no apprehensions about being around Claire, Summer does — and the fact that she has little support in this matter is frustrating. “She’s going mad really with everybody not taking her concerns seriously,” Allison Lanier says. “It’s frustrating to be invalidated in the way that she has been.”

Lanier says Summer may understand the position that many in her family are taking in her head — but not in her heart. “It makes sense that all of the Newmans want to accept Claire and give her the benefit of the doubt,” the actress concedes. “But that doesn’t mean that Summer is automatically wrong and that they shouldn’t try to understand where she’s coming from.”