Did Mal Young Keep Victor From Nikki’s Trial On The Young And The Restless?

Last week on The Young and the Restless, Victor Newman stood up in court and declared that Christine Williams was wrong as she made her opening remarks in the trial of his wife Nikki Newman. Not surprisingly, the judge booted the mustached mogul from her courtroom — but was there more to the move than just a story point?

First, yes, it’s totally in character for Victor (Eric Braeden) to speak his mind no matter where he is. And the judge was within her rights to restore order in her courtroom.

But Victor being ousted from the proceedings meant that he wasn’t able to be there for Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) on the next day’s show when she needed her husband the most!

Braeden has gone on the record with his dissatisfaction with former YR showrunner Mal Young. He recently hosted a live social media chat in which he said that Young attempted to diminish Victor. Perhaps this is one of the instances in which Braeden is referring to.

Then again, Victor might have been written out of the episode for one simple reason — economics. Soaps are more mindful than ever over budgets and paying Braeden to play a spectator in court (albeit a supportive one) might have not made sense money-wise.

Kudos to the show for actually springing for jurors and it’s always great to see Lauren Woodland back as attorney Brittany. (But can’t the Genoa City district attorney’s office afford an assistant for Lauralee Bell’s Christine?)

At least the show got Victor out of the room in an organic way. And let’s face it, Victor would not have sat silently during Christine’s cross-examination of Mariah (Camryn Grimes) as the DA built her case against Nikki, Victoria (Amelia Heinle), and Sharon (Sharon Case).

Moving forward, the show is setting the stage to lure back any lapsed viewers who may have felt favorites were put on the backburner — or, in Victor’s case, the courtroom hallway.

Doug Davidson returns as Paul Williams on Tuesday, March 26. Eileen Davidson (Ashley) is coming back for two episodes, originally set for the end of March, but in light of a recent national news pre-emption, Davidson will appear on Friday, March 29 and Monday, April 1. Beth Maitland (Traci) is coming back for a visit, too.

One YR fan tweeted a question to Braeden asking why he wasn’t at the trial and the actor responded. You can read the exchange below!

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for airtimes.