‘Young and the Restless’ News: Richard Burgi’s Wife Reveals Y&R Fired Him as Ashland
Young and the Restless fired Richard Burgi as Ashland Locke, according to his wife. This week, the actor confirmed his exit with no details. Now, his wife came out swinging making it clear the CBS soap is to blame and not her hubby. If you want to see Ashland stick around, maybe there’s still time to save the actor.
Young and the Restless Fired Richard Burgi as Ashland Locke – Wife Reveals
Earlier this week, Richard Burgi confirmed he was leaving Y&R as Ashland Locke. That led to tons of speculation about why he was leaving. And of course, how his character would go. A leaker from CBS daytime said recently that he’d signed an extension to stay longer.
So, the reveal that he would exit Young and the Restless seemed to contradict this leak. But now there’s more info on the Ashland actor’s departure. Richard Burgi’s wife, Liliana Lopez, spoke out against the soap. Fans asked if it was his decision to leave. Lopex was quick to reply, “Nope!”.
Then, she said it was “their [Y&R] choice” to axe him as Ashland. And to further clarify, Lopez said, “the writer’s” decision for Burgi to leave. And she capped it with a double hand-clapping emoji. It seems The Young and the Restless fans see eye to eye with his spouse. Because few are happy to see him go.
Will Y&R Kill off Ashland?
With the news that the writers scrubbed Ashland Locke’s storyline, one huge question lingers. How will Young and the Restless exit Richard Burgi? There are really only two choices if he’s leaving. Ashland leaves dead — or alive. Recall, when they first introduced Ash, he was a power player in the media world.
Then, they cooked up a fatal late-stage cancer diagnosis. Then, Young and the Restless hitched him to Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle). And he suddenly decided to pursue treatment. It was around that time the rumor emerged he was on contract. He seemed weak at the Y&R wedding.
But upon Ashland and Victoria’s return to Genoa City, he’s been positively vibrant. There have been no fainting or weak spells on Young and the Restless. And they told Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) with Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), that he was in recovery. So, now what? Surely not a recast… UPDATE: Yes – there’s a recast!
Major Shakeup Ahead for Ash on Young and the Restless
With Richard Burgi and his bride confirming he was fired, what does that mean? Either way, there’s a plot twist ahead for Ashland Locke. For a long time, viewers wondered if Ash faked his cancer diagnosis. Theories ran the gamut that he was playing a long con for revenge on the Newmans.
If so, the con seems pretty thorough since he married Victoria. Now, he’ll either reveal he lied. That way, Young and the Restless can oust him in shame. No doubt, Vikki would divorce him. And the Newmans would run him out of town on a rail. But the simpler course of action is to kill Ashland.
Richard Burgi announces he's done at Young and the Restless as Ashland Locke #YR #Astoria https://t.co/kNREytz2cU pic.twitter.com/xTqzDRmwvH
— SoapDirt.com (@SoapDirtTV) January 9, 2022
They can simply send his stage 4 lung cancer into a tailspin. Then, Vikki could bury her husband on The Young and the Restless. Either outcome would be a dramatic exit for Ashland. The worst-case would be if they inexplicably had him dump her and leave town.
We’ll keep you posted if anything changes. Check back to Soap Dirt daily for more Young and the Restless news. But for now, it looks like Richard Burgi’s days at Y&R are numbered as Ashland Locke. HIs one-year anniversary is in March. Will he last until then?
UPDATE – Robert Newman is recast Ashland and will replace Burgi. His first airdate is in February according to SOD. Did you expect this Guiding Light alumn twist?