Eric Braeden has been a part of "The Young & The Restless" on CBS for nearly 30 years.

His role as Victor Newman, the ruthless billionaire who recently picked up a heart from a character he had a role in the death of, is one of the first people tend to think about, even if they've never seen the show.

But the German-born actor went on a tirade that would make even John McEnroe blush.

"If I signed a three-year fucking deal, you honor it," Braeden yelled at a reporter for the New York Post this past week. "You expect to be talked to in a sensitive way, not suddenly hit over the head by invoking a clause that was never invoked before and to say, 'What the fuck happened?'"

Braeden is dropping the F-bomb over a clause in his contract that allowed management to review his salary every 26 weeks. And in each review, they have the option of adjusting his salary.

In a recent review, CBS and Sony -- both of whom are struggling to make ends meet on the soap opera in the face of a bad economy and falling viewership in daytime serialized television -- have been asking for actors to take a pay cut. It was a point of contention for a little while with Melody Thomas Scott, who plays Braeden's on-screen ex-wife, a few months back, and is now an epic battle between Braeden and CBS.

Braeden, of course, thinks he's being singled out. And he doesn't have anything wrong with that ... he would rather be singled out when it benefits him, not the overall life of the show. Pretty much every high-paid actor on Y&R were asked to, and accepted, some sort of a pay cut. But because Braeden apparently already took one a couple years back, he feels he doesn't need one now.

And you know, I am with him on his point that CBS and Sony should honor his three-year deal. They both sat down, agreed to every single term in that contract, and signed their names to the paper.

The funny thing is ... CBS and Sony are honoring his three-year deal. They didn't just make up some reason to cut his pay. The 26-week review was a part of his contract, and by the actor's own admission, had always been a part of his contract. But because they never actually optioned that portion of his agreement, it was no longer valid?

Sorry, that doesn't work for me. And unless Braeden has a clause in his contract that allows him to storm off the set not to return before the end of his agreement, then it's not CBS or Sony that is breaching his agreement ... he is.

What a stupid temper tantrum, especially from an actor that I admire. If I don't want something to be used against me in a contract negotiation, then I am going to negotiate it out of the contract. If I leave something in, however, even if I think the other party is never going to exercise it, I can't really complain when they do.

If CBS signed a deal with me that said they would pay me a bunch of money, but if I ever had a child, I would have to name him Les Moonves Hinman, I could laugh off the absurdity of it, and sign the deal knowing that I would never be put in that position. But when the kid comes along, and Les Moonves shows up at the hospital ready to write his name on the kid's birth certificate, I have no reason to complain, especially one that would give any true-story movie made about it an R-rating because of language.

I'm sorry, Mr. Braeden, that your pay got cut. I know that soap actors don't make a terribly large amount of money based on what they do compared to other actors in other fields. But you signed the agreement. They exercised a clause you agreed to, whether you believe they would option such a clause or not. And if it pisses you off now, then work through the end of your contract, and make sure your agent negotiates better for the next contract.

It will suck for Y&R fans to see you leave the show, but it's doubtful too many people will lose sleep over it. Good writers and producers have a tendency to replace any holes in fans' heart with something new. And we're talking about the first (and only) soap opera that successfully reinvented itself early in its run to now be the No. 1 soap opera on television for 20 years running.

Yes, Mr. Braeden, you had something to do with that. But that doesn't give you license to whine and scream like a child.