The Real-Life Tragedy Michelle Stafford Draws On For Phyllis’ Fury On Young and the Restless

Phyllis is furious with Sharon on The Young and the Restless because Sharon tried to set up Daniel for Heather’s murder. Sadly, actress Michelle Stafford has a real-life tragedy she’s drawn from to get Phyllis’ fury at the situation just right.

Hit-And-Run

Stafford recently discussed the animosity between Sharon and Phyllis with Soap Opera Digest. “I have a friend whose son was killed by a hit-and-run driver, and I kind of channel my friend in this,” she told the outlet. “The hit-and-run driver already had so many DUIs, had been arrested so many times, and the hit-and-run driver and his friends worked really hard to hide [his crime]…. It’s a really gross story. Her son is dead, and it’s so unjust. I know there are people out there who have experienced things like this, where you just feel, ‘It’s so unjust.’ I think there are a lot of people out there who have been served no justice for a family member or a friend who died.”

It seems that Stafford meant the accident she talked about on social media in early 2022. She helped her friend find justice for the situation after a driver hit and killed her friend Max and fled the scene of the crime. In November 2022, Stafford revealed that police made an arrest in the case.

Ultimately, Stafford has used the emotions and helplessness of that real-life situation to inform Phyllis’ feelings about Sharon (Sharon Case) doing all the things she did to set up Daniel (Michael Graziadei). Even if Sharon didn’t kill Heather (Vail Bloom), her actions certainly made it more difficult for Daniel and Lucy (Lily Brooks O’Briant) to deal with the aftermath of Heather’s murder. It’s certainly not going to be easy for Phyllis to forgive and forget. In fact, she probably never will.