Neil Patrick Harris Regrets Blasting Soap Star On Twitter

"How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris recently stirred up some offscreen drama related to the show, but later regretted starting the flap.

The controversy began when Harris tweeted some unsavory comments about soap star Eric Braeden, who was slated to tape a cameo as character Robin Scherbatsky's father. However, Harris took offense after "The Young and the Restless" actor dropped out of the appearance.

"Eric Braeden is a D-Bag. the actor, (Robin's dad) agreed to a cameo, then last night bailed, saying the part wasn't 'substantial' enough," Harris tweeted on Friday.

Braeden shot back in an interview with Entertainment Weekly later that day, shrugging off Harris' gripe and explaining he ditched the cameo due to an increased workload.

"I really don't know who that fellow is. He's a guy who stars in that series," Braeden laughed to EW. "It's very unfortunate. First of all, I came back from hip surgery. I was off for three weeks. I've doubled my work, 30 to 50 pages a day for me, alone. Everyone knows that I'm exhausted. I was not about to appear on a show for two lines, because that's what it amounted to."

Braeden added that he returned to the show because he enjoyed his first cameo in 2008 and "the cast and crew and producers couldn't have been nicer." However, the veteran actor appeared to view Harris' comments as arrogance.

"His choice of words bothered me," Braeden added. "It seems to me like a young whippersnapper, having seen himself on a few covers, who's received a few awards, is now suddenly suffering from the first signs of hubris. I've been in the business for 50 years. I've seen people come and go and I'm still here."

Ultimately, Braeden maintained that he had no plans to escalate the drama, saying,"If he is a worthy adversary, he'd better not cross my path. I will let bygones be bygones."

Later, Harris returned to Twitter to explain he just had a visceral reaction to someone bashing his beloved "Mother."

"Now I feel bad for the D-bag comment," he wrote. "Don't know the guy personally. I'm just fiercely protective of our show."