Shocking The Young and the Restless casting news left viewers stunned. Actor Donny Boaz took to Instagram to announce that Monday, February 1, is his last airdate as Chance Chancellor.
“Sad news: Tomorrow, Monday, 02/01/21, as of now… will be my last airdate on The Young and The Restless,” wrote the actor in a post seen here .
He explained some of the details he does know, and he noted that many people lost their jobs in 2020, so he felt blessed that he was able to keep his.
“Here’s what I know…I was told that Chance is NOT being replaced or killed off. He’s just not gonna be there anymore. Overall, I am grateful and thankful for this amazing opportunity. I know that I’m walking away from this better at my craft than before I started.”
Perhaps adding salt to the wound, Boaz reported (in a now-deleted portion of his caption) that he learned the news at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve 2020, which also left fans furious.
It’s incredibly difficult to see how Chance simply won’t be in the storylines anymore. He and Abby (Melissa Ordway) are newlyweds, and they have a front-burner storyline. While Boaz was out with COVID-19 during his on-screen altar ego’s wedding to Abby, the actress’ real-life husband — Justin Gaston — stepped in for the crucial shows, including a milestone 12,000th episode for the CBS Daytime drama.
Currently, Chance and Abby are dealing with infertility, and they asked Mariah (Camryn Grimes) to be their surrogate. She agrees, but then Chance finds out that he’s suffering fertility issues due to being shot a few months ago. Even that doesn’t derail their plans, though. They decide to pursue adoption.
Interestingly, on February 4, Chance’s mom Nina (Tricia Cast) is slated to show up in Genoa City. Perhaps it’s in connection with a possible disappearance.
Boaz ended his announcement by praising his co-star, Melissa Ordway, telling her she deserved to win a Daytime Emmy Award and calling her the best actress he’d ever gotten to work with.
Fans reacted to his post, with many expressing their shock and dismay to hear he was leaving and in such a surprising way, considering how big a storyline Chance is involved in right now. Several viewers noted that they hoped the soap would realize its mistake and have Boaz return as Chance sometime soon.
Not every commenter was unhappy about the news, though. For months, Twitter users made a concerted effort to get Y&R to let Boaz go due to some of his political posts.
