Y&R’s Nikki Calls Diane Old News? Ma’am, We Remember the Bayou

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Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters) had an idea, & it’s a great one. She’s launching Jabot Classic with a throwback photo shoot starring the models who made the brand famous. Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) is not amused. She’s calling Diane desperate, old news & yesterday’s face.

Nikki. Honey. Let’s talk about classics.

Diane Dusts Off the Archives

On Young & the Restless, Diane is rolling out Jabot Classic, & she’s doing it the smart way: with the faces fans actually remember. Christine Blair (Lauralee Bell), Lily Winters (Christel Khalil), Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard) & Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian) all showed up at Crimson Lights to strike a pose. Old posters on the walls. Real nostalgia. Y&R history in one room.

That’s marketing. Fans love a throwback, & Diane knows it. After years of photos that make Young & the Restless fans ask “what,” we finally get a photo shoot worth looking at.

Esther Valentine (Kate Linder) said what we were all thinking: Diane was a model, a stunning one, & she belongs in it. Diane agreed. Good for her.

Nikki Has Entered the Chat

Nikki wasn’t having it. She sniffed, “Oh, please.” Then she called Diane desperate for building a campaign around herself & predicted Diane’s face would end up on unsold jars of makeup remover.

That’s cute, coming from a woman who’s launching Vibrante & believes Jabot is her only competition. Perhaps a market analysis would be a nice touch, Nikki.

Diane didn’t flinch. She told Nikki she’s a start-up chasing trends instead of setting them. Mic drop. You could see it land on Nikki’s face with her nose stuck up in the air & all.

Then on Thursday, Nikki strutted into Crimson Lights in a full power outfit & crashed the actual shoot, uninvited. She reminded everyone she was a Jabot model too & told Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) she’d betrayed the company just by showing up. Nobody bought it. The whole room saw how ridiculous she was being & called her out. Everybody’s a traitor when Nikki isn’t the main character.

Let’s Talk About Classics

Diane’s classic era: Jabot top model. Did she scheme her way there with Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman)? Yes. Still a Jabot model. Still on the posters.

Nikki’s classic era: the Bayou. A stage, a pole & a whole lot of glitter. That’s where Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) found her before he turned her into the lady of the Newman Compound.

Related: Nikki Newman: Daytime’s #1 Retired Stripper

Nikki’s glow-up is one of the best stories this show ever told. Still, if your résumé starts at the Bayou, you don’t get to call anybody “old news.” Victor didn’t fall for a jar of face cream.

Jabot Classic vs Stripper Classic

So here’s my pitch for Vibrante: lean in. Stripper Classic. A pink feather boa in every box. Hire the Bayou house band for the launch party.

Nikki wants a fight, & Genoa City knows these two never fight small. Nikki has the Newman money & a grudge older than Esther. Diane has the nostalgia, the models, the Abbott name & the better idea.

I’m Team Diane 110%. She built something fans want to see. Nikki built a tantrum.

Is Nikki right that Diane’s old news, or does the Bayou make her the last person who should say it? It’s not my first day watching Y&R & it isn’t yours either. What’s your take?