The Matt Scene In The Young And The Restless That Went Too Far
Genoa City, the homebase for the enduring CBS daytime drama "The Young and the Restless," has been the launching pad for some very twisted psychopaths over the course of the soap's decades-long run. From nurse Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown), who tormented department store owner Lauren Fenmore (Tracey E. Bregman) for years and even chased her all the way to the show's sister soap "The Bold and the Beautiful," to David Kimble (Michael Corbett), who was so determined to get his hands on the inheritance of Nina Webster (Tricia Cast) that he faked his own death and underwent plastic surgery, the program has hosted a lot of twisted Wisconsinites over the years.
Such is the case with barista/student Matt Clark (originally played by Eddie Cibrian), who nursed such a severe grudge against popular heir Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) that Matt sacrificed something major and important to him to get revenge on Nick. The form his vengeance took was shocking enough to turn the heads of even the most jaded of "Y&R" viewers. Which scene involving Matt went too far for them?
Matt framed Nick for his murder by killing himself
Matt Clark (now Rick Hearst) slipped back into town in 2000 after getting plastic surgery and changing his name after tormentingNick and his wife Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) in the '90s (see below). Now working under the name of Carter Mills, he took a job at Crimson Lights, Sharon and Nick's coffeehouse. Using his position at the shop to get closer to Sharon, he secretly planned to take his enemies down for good.
First, Matt teamed up with Larry Warton (David Fralick) to frame Nick for selling ecstasy out of the coffeehouse, charges which quickly escalated to a murder rap when a teen died after taking the drugs. While Nick was briefly incarcerated for those charges, Matt took up with married Tricia Dennison (Sabryn Genet) and tried to rape Sharon again (see below), tricking her into meeting him in a remote cabin. Interrupted by Nick during the latter encounter, Matt used Tricia as his getaway ride. But Tricia had deadly plans for them both and drove her car off the side of the cliff in an act of attempted murder-suicide. Tricia survived, but Matt was mortally wounded.
Lying in the hospital on life support, Matt used the last of his energy to pull out his own breathing tube in front of his rival in an effort to frame Nick for the crime. Nick was subsequently charged with murder but was eventually exonerated when Warton came forward. Fans often reference the shocking incident when talking about Sharon and Nick's tortured love story. CBS spotlighted Matt's suicide as a memorable moment in 2013, referring to the character's presence as "emotionally scarring." But that wasn't the first time Matt tried to ruin Nick and Sharon's lives.
But first, Matt framed Nick for his shooting
Of course, that wasn't the first time that Matt and Nick were at odds with one another. The twosome were initially bitter high school rivals, where both Matt and Nick were strongly attracted to Sharon and began to fight for her attention. At first, Sharon picked Matt, and Matt couldn't resist rubbing that fact in "rich boy" Nick's face. Their conflict came to a head when they got into a fistfight at a party, causing Sharon to break up with Matt and start dating Nick. In retaliation, her enraged ex raped her.
Sharon withheld the truth and Matt started dating the innocent Amy Wilson (Julianne Morris), Sharon's best friend and Nick's ex. When Nick and Sharon were named king and queen at their school dance, Matt exposed the fact that Sharon gave birth to a child and gave her up for adoption before moving to Genoa City. The fight that ensued between Nick and Sharon was brief and they were soon engaged to be married. When she confessed to Nick that Matt had raped her, he went to Matt's apartment to confront him, but found Matt lying in a pool of blood.
Matt accused Nick of shooting him, and Nick was convicted of the crime and sentenced to 15 years in prison on attempted murder charges. But Nick's father, Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) doggedly pursued the case, determined to free his son. He discovered Amy in a mental institution and learned the girl was suffering PTSD from her own rape. Victor coaxed Amy into testifying. Her words saved Nick, and Matt left town to avoid rape charges — that is, until he returned to "Y&R" to enact the aforementioned plot above.