Genie Francis Parts Ways With 'The Young and the Restless'

The pink slips have begun! Soaps In Depth is reporting that Emmy winner Genie Francis (Genevieve) has been let go from The Young and the Restless due to “budget reasons.”

According to the SID, the actress is not the only actor heading out the door. Soap Uncensored’s Nelson Branco reported in the July 30 edition that Francis would more than likely be given her walking papers. Uncensored also listed Stephen Nichols (Tucker), Julia Pace Mitchell (Sofia), Darnell Williams (Sarge) and Debbi Morgan (Harmony) as likely exits as well. Francis was introduced in May 2011 as Cane’s (Daniel Goddard) estranged mother Genevieve Atkinson.

Genevieve was determined to bring down her crime lord husband Colin (Tristan Rogers) and attempt to reconcile with her son. Unfortunately for Francis, playing a vengeful ice queen turned shrewd businesswoman didn’t work for the audience. Francis survived the cast purge of fall 2011, which saw Rogers, Eden Riegel (Heather), Sean Patrick Flannery (Sam) and Darius McCrary (Malcolm) let go. Subsequent attempts to soften the character failed as well, leaving aborted pairings with Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) and Victor Newman (Eric Braeden).

It wasn’t all bad, as Francis’ work earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress for the 39th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards. Now that Francis has let been go from Y&R, could the vet find herself revisiting her old stomping grounds on ABC’s General Hospital? In July, GH executive producer Frank Valentini addressed the possibility of the actress returning as Laura at the Disney/ABC Television Group Summer Press Tour. “There’s a rich history of amazing wonderful characters on the show right now in addition to us wanting to bring back players. Unfortunately, contracts forbid us from discussing that. We are big fans of Genie and wish her all the best. But I think we’re pretty solid right now.”

With that roadblock no longer an issue, now would be the time to reach out Mr. Valentini.