Phyllis Summers of Young and the Restless Wins Worst Mother of the Century

The Young and the Restless is no stranger to bad mothers. Jill used her oldest son, Phillip, as a ploy to steal a rich man from his wife and, when that failed, proceeded to ignore said son for literally his entire childhood. Dina abandoned her children — and slept with her daughter’s boyfriend. Diane let Kyle think she was dead for years. Sharon kept Christian from Nick even when she knew the tot wasn’t hers. Mariah’s mother raised her in a sex cult. But all those women need to take a seat. Because now, Phyllis Summers has topped them all.

Phyllis Summers: Twisted Sister On Young and the Restless

Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) was so furious at everyone forgiving Diane (Susan Walters) for faking her death, that Phyllis…faked her death, to demonstrate how monstrous such an act is. Phyllis let Summer (Allison Lanier) and Daniel (Michael Graziadei) think she’d been murdered so that Diane could be punished for what she did to Kyle (Michael Mealor). Think that’s what put her over the top in the worst mother category? Not even close.

Young and the Restless: I Thought You Did It For Me, Mama

What gave Phyllis the Worst Mother of the Year…Decade…Century Award was the scene of horrific emotional abuse she inflicted on her allegedly beloved daughter in Chancellor Park. First, kudos to Lanier for an amazing performance. She looked gutted, sickened, disbelieving, and flat-out horrified. This is your Daytime Emmy reel for next year. Make a note of it now.

Sure, 2023 Emmy nominee Stafford was excellent, too. In demonstrating just how depraved and unhinged her character had become. Phyllis basically forced her Supergirl to choose between Diane and Phyllis. Between her marriage and Phyllis. Between her life and Phyllis’s. But she apologized for it in the end. So, you know, that made it OK.

Young and the Restless: Phyllis Summers Sank To Lower Depths

Just when we thought Phyllis couldn’t sink any lower, there she went. This was emotional abuse at its most horrifying. Worse than physical abuse, even, because Phyllis made Summer feel responsible for her own suffering. It’s up to her, Phyllis said. She’s in control. She can decide what to do. Does Summer want to kill her mother all over again? Think about it, honey. Nothing any of the mothers we opened this post with ever did anything worse.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

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