Y&R’s Michelle Stafford Gets Support from Co-Star Colleen Zenk

Michelle Stafford picked up her third Daytime Emmy Friday night at the 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards for her role as Phyllis on Young and the Restless. The actress is clarifying some comments she made in her speech and she’s receiving lovely support from another daytime star — Colleen Zenk, who plays Jordan.

Setting the Record Straight

“[I] need to kill this weird narrative that’s seems to be catching fire regarding the thing that I said to Josh Griffith [Y&R’s executive producer/head writer] on stage [which was] ‘thank you for letting me cry in your office,'” Stafford wrote on Instagram.

“I usually wouldn’t give [an expletive],” the actress wrote, continuing, “But I think actually sharing the story with you might be helpful to anyone who is experiencing grief. I lost a parent recently. It was devastating. But you must carry on with life. You go to work. You take care of your kids….And life does in fact move on.

“About 10 days or so after his death I had already had a meeting planned with Josh about some questions I had in my story,” Michelle Stafford says. “We were discussing a couple things and every time I talked about my character’s relationship with her children and aspects of how it would play out… this surge of emotion came over me. Have you ever been there? After a loss you move on and you’re fine but then maybe you’re talking to, I don’t know, a co-worker or you see something at the market, and something triggers some memory, and you fall apart?

“The more you try to stop it the worse it gets. Oh man, it’s horrible. That’s what happened. I found myself weeping in Josh’s office. Like an idiot. Something about talking about Phyllis’s relationship with her kids just did it,” Stafford recollects. “I was so embarrassed. I apologized profusely. He did the most human thing.

“I won’t get into what he said and did but it was quite human,” the actress shares. “Yes, it’s a workplace, our set. For sure. We’ve all been working together for a long time. It’s a professional environment, but we all really care about each other. Sometimes that’s hard for people to understand if they don’t have that kind of work life. Maybe folks out there who are trying to spread a rumor that I “cry to get a storyline” maybe they have a bad work situation. Or a boss who doesn’t even care to listen to them. I don’t know….

“All I know is that I’m very honored to work with people I also care about and who I believe care about me. What a gift,” the grateful award winner says. “What I said on stage was a spontaneous comment to my boss who did something very kind for me. Very human for me. My wish for others is that one day they actually experience a working environment that’s similar.”

“My darling friend… you and have spoken about loss and the enormous grief that follows. It never ends,” Zenk, beloved as As the World Turns‘ Barbara, wrote to Michelle Stafford via her post. “You know how I feel about you. I am beyond thrilled for your Emmy win. You are one of a kind. And all human. And enormously giving… and talented… what a beautiful response. I wish I had the strength to have written something similar many times… love you… CZ…”