When Michelle Stafford accepted the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress on June 7, she expressed her gratitude to her loved ones and fellow nominees but also offered a special thank you to The Young and the Restless' head writer and executive producer, Josh Griffith.
"Thank you, Josh," she said. "I don't know where you are, but I love you so much. Thank you for listening to me cry in your office."
Some fans wondered why the actress would cry in her boss's office, so Stafford took to Instagram to explain why she was in tears. She had just experienced a family loss when her stepfather died, and a chat with Griffith brought up a cascade of emotions that overwhelmed her.
"I need to kill this weird narrative that seems to be catching fire regarding the thing that I said to Josh Griffith on stage 'thank you for letting me cry in your office.' I usually wouldn't give a sh*t. But I think actually sharing the story with you might be helpful to anyone who is experiencing grief," Stafford wrote. "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."
Stafford went on to describe a meeting with the Y&R writer/producer that took place soon after her stepfather passed.
"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. 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," Stafford continued. "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. 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 Emmy-winning actress said she understands that such emotions might not be appropriate in a professional setting but also pointed out that her co-workers care about one another.
"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," she explained. "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. 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."
Several Y&R co-stars commented on Stafford's post, offering their support, including Colleen Zenk (Jordan Howard), Susan Walters (Diane Jenkins Abbott), Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea Lawson), and Tracey E. Bregman (Lauren Fenmore).
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