Co-Star Jason Thompson Confirms That Michael Mealor Is Leaving Y&R

Published on July 10, 2021.

The writing was already on the wall but now a castmate has broken his silence and confirmed that Michael Mealor is leaving The Young and the Restless (Y&R).

Y&R viewers have been understandably vocal about rumors that Hunter King (Summer Newman) and Michael Mealor (Kyle Abbott) were exiting the CBS show over stalled contract negotiations.

On Friday, July 9th, Jason Thompson (who plays Billy Abbott) responded to one such viewer to commiserate over the bad news.

When a Twitter user remarked, “I am really going to miss [Jason Thompson] and [Michael Mealor] in scenes together”, using the actor’s hashtags, Thompson responded, “me too!!”

“Michael is a gem,” the Emmy winner added. “We will miss him.”

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Thompson deleted his tweet hours later but not before intrepid fans and media screen-grabbed it for posterity.

This touching admission remains the only confirmation from an insider that Mealor will leave the Y&R canvas. It also lends more weight to the rumor of King departing the soap, since her contract negotiations have been protracted alongside Mealor’s. Additionally, she already has another role lined up, starring in the ABC comedy Prospect.

Did Thompson delete his tweet because producers are still working to keep King and Mealor on the show? Will fan outrage and cast solidarity save Skyle at the last minute, or is it too late to salvage two of the long-running soap’s best young talents?

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