Days Of Our Lives
DAYS Susan Seaforth Hayes Responds to Fan Uproar Over Her Daytime Emmy Lead Actress Nomination Snub
The beloved and iconic star of Days of our Lives, the legendary Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie Williams) has come forward with a heartfelt statement and showed just why she is one of the all-time classiest people we know, since fans have been in an uproar over her name not appearing alongside the nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series for the upcoming 52nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards come this October.
Susan’s assistant and friend, Amy Shaughnessy. took to X on Wednesday, following the announcement of the Lead Actress category and revealed that, yes, Susan did, in fact, submit her work for the Lead Actress category in a year which in real life saw her lose her longtime husband, Bill Hayes (Doug Williams) and then mourn the loss of Julie’s (and Susan’s) one and only on-screen in heartbreaking episodes and performances.
On Thursday, Hayes took to her social media account to express her sincere thanks to all the fans who were upset by her snub. Susan shared: “For everyone who was upset by the Emmy nominations, I am amazed and moved that so many cared that deeply about Susan Hayes and Julie, her other self.”
Photo: JPI
She went on to say, “The first Daytime Emmys happened live from the gorgeous plaza of Rockefeller Center in NYC. Bill Hayes sang, we presented, and MacDonald Carey (ex-Tom Horton, DAYS) won for ‘best person on daytime’ or some vague category that made us all feel splendid. Eventually, the categories became more specific; Lead Actor, Supporting, Younger, and now Emerging Actor (imagine Meryl Streep rising out of a cake!). Between my nominations, I have had the honor of co-hosting the show once with Beverlee McKinsey (ex-Iris, Another World/Texas; ex-Alexandra, Guiding Light) and in 2018 receiving a Lifetime Achievement Emmy that sits on our piano next to Billy’s. I have not been snubbed by all the judges of NATAS over time.”
Susan added, “From 1968–2025 I fit into all the categories, emerging, to supporting, to lead. Susan Lucci (ex-Erica, All My Children) was forever a leading lady, Susan/Julie reflected the more natural evolution of nature. She was fresh– then hot– cooled down– and for now, mellow. I have had the chance to stay a working actress for all those thousands of shows. Studying lines, going through the studio gate, being present with the creative cast and crew for one of the longest running dramas on American television.”
Photo: JPI
“Is she ‘entertaining?’ This is not the usual path of a soap opera leading lady. In that story of loss I was more than an actress, I was a wife. My husband deserved all I could give to show the reality of grief and loss,” expressed Hayes.” Perhaps the judges felt I wasn’t acting when for the camera, I got the news, kissed the body goodbye, and gave the eulogy. No matter, my truth was based on a love that was real for an audience that loved him, too. My reward in 2024 was that I honored Doug and Julie, members of a family millions have opened their hearts to I am hugely blessed and promise you all I will keep on keeping on.”
Previously, Shaughnessy said of Susan’s performance and omission from the nominees, “She filmed a death scene with a body double 3 months after lying next to her actual husband in a hospice bed and saying goodbye to him. We talked every morning during the week of filming about how to breathe, take breaks, and channel the real life emotions of grief and loss into her performance so she could reach fellow audience members who had lost loved ones.”
“NO one deserved a nomination this year more than Susan Seaforth Hayes for her absolutely brilliant performance processing and living through Bill Hayes’ and Doug Williams’ deaths, said Amy. “She did what most actors never have to do; she exposed her soul and shared her real life grief with the entire daytime audience. It was raw, real, and MORE than worthy of an Emmy nomination. Shame on you, Academy members, for not recognizing Susan Seaforth Hayes for her brave and exceptional performance.”
What are your thoughts on Susan not appearing in the list of six Lead Actress nominees for the 45th annual Daytime Emmy Awards? Were you touched by her sentiments on fan outcry? Let us know in the comment section.
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Susan you are a class act who not only deserved a nomination but the win! It has been years since the academy have actually cared about daytime tv. It’s an absolute shame and again an absolute disrespect for the genre .
Yes, she drove story for Doug’s passing/memorial episodes, but there’s a good argument to be made to submit her in supporting – where she’d be the odds-on favorite with the other nominees listed.
Regardless, she is forever a class act.
She has more class than some of the fans on here do.
Even for an organization that’s prone to getting so many things wrong, NATAS has really goofed on this one. I’ll admit, I assumed SSH had put herself in for Supporting Actress, but Lead wasn’t a stretch, and she should have been nominated, at least.
I wonder if other actresses on Days did not submit for Lead out of deference to Susan, and that’s how we ended up with nobody from Days nominated for Lead Actress. That would make it doubly appalling.
I haven’t had a lot of faith in NATAS since . . . well, ever, really, and I go back 50 years with soap-watching. But this one stuns me. Boneheaded by even NATAS’s low, low, low standards.
YUP! Gave up on the Daytime Emmys a long time ago.
To be fair about it, Susan already had to relive her actual husbands death for the cameras (since he was also her husband for the show). If she didn’t want to go through all that a third time, in the process of submitting those scenes for nomination, I really couldn’t blame her.
Though all things considered, she probably deserves the award for pulling those scenes off, under the circumstances.
Wow, maybe all know nobody held a candle to her last year, so they were intimidated, & left her out. We have all witnessed a lot of loss, but nobody had to lose their husband, then spend months also grieving a body double at work daily! We all felt her loss & cried. I probably would have done the scenes on auto pilot, but she blew my mind at the hardest weeks of her life, Real, & Reel.
Does anybody realize she and her husband put daytime on the map? They were on Newsweek I think not sure I was a junior high kid but Susan is a great person and I said good riddance a long time ago the same nominees the same crap.
Bill and Susan were on the January 12, 1976 edition of “Time” magazine in which the accompanying article proclaimed Days of our Lives as the most daring daytime drama. Time…⏳
That’s correct. It was Tony Geary & Genie Francis on Newsweek. People always get confused that was a Time cover.
Yep. “Sex and Suffering in the Afternoon.” I remember the article well; I’d been watching soaps about a year and could not believe they’d made the cover of a national magazine! Among other things, the article rated all the soaps with zero to four teardrops (might have been five), and only Days got the full four (or five), though as I recall, Another World and Young and Restless were right behind (with half a teardrop less). Classic quote from SSH regarding the interviewer’s observation that folks in Salem were, um, quite sexually active: “We are a bunch of horny devils.” (If she weren’t such a goddess anyway, SSH would be a soap treasure just for her wry commentary through the years. Circa 1993: James Reilly, on why he was writing Julie out of the show: “Julie’s stories have been told.” SSH: “Really? I must have slept through them.”)
Its a silly system. Its the same five or six actors favored actresses being nominated over and over again every year or two years even when their performances suck. The soap industry then tries to correct the crookedness by coming up with new award categories like best younger actor actress or best new emerging talent. This leads to other fiascos like the wrong actress winning or younger actor nominees over the age limit. The Oscars and Emmys look at hundreds of potential nominees in numerous categories. The daytime Emmys are dealing with only four soaps and realistically maybe a hundred potential nominees and they make it a joke. Kudos to Mrs. Hayes for exhibiting the class from her generation that this new iteration of the award show lacks.
Days Of Our Lives
DAYS OF OUR LIVES Preview: Kristen Locates an Alive Sophia, How Much Does Rita Know About the Birth of Dominic Marino?
Next week, expected surprises and schemes on Days of our Lives. In official spoilers for episodes streaming on Peacock from October 5-9, it looks like Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) has hunted down a very much alive Sophia Choi (Rachel Boyd), while Marlena (Deidre Hall) admits a deeply concerning confession to her daughter Belle (Martha Madison), and more.
As previously reported, Tajh Bellow (ex-TJ Ashford, General Hospital) is stepping in for one day for Tyler Joseph Andrews in the role of Theo Carver and will share scenes with Gabi (Cherie Jimenez), where Theo finally agrees to go along with Gabi’s plan, after she offered him a job.
Meanwhile, Gabi may have her hands full with Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier) whose big win in Monte Carlo may have sparked his gambling addiction … all over again, but Philip reveals her has a plan.
Photo: Corday Productions
Sydney (Sydney Malekeh) is in for a shock when Dante (Franco LoPresti) arrives in Salem. Why is he in Salem? Is he part of the unraveling of the Dominic Marino mystery, since we know he seemed like he was talking to the man in Monte Carlo?
Will Marlena ever figure out what Rita (Maggie Carney) is hiding about the mystery of Dominic, and if Marlena is truly his birth mother or did something more suspicious go on and how deeply involved is Rita in this whole story?
EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) finally demands answers of his own from Rita after overhearing on today’s Cliffhanger Friday her conversation with Marlena. Will Rita cop to anything?
Then as noted, while everyone thinks Sophia took her own life, after Kristen “murdered” her, Kristen is infuriated to find she is somehow alive working as waitress in a diner in Kentucky. Will Kristen try to kill Sophia yet again?
Take a look at some of the additional spoilers for next week’s action on DAYS below.
Monday, October 5
Joy worries about her future.
Alex surprises Stephanie.
Chanel supports Johnny through a difficult decision.
Tuesday, October 6
Rachel gives Brady cause for concern.
Roman surprises Kate.
Wednesday, October 7
Leo’s good day takes an unexpected turn.
Brady is forced to make a difficult call.
Thursday, October 8
Paulina refuses to give up on Lani.
Chanel asks Johnny for a promise.
Friday, October 9
Stephanie and Alex steal a private moment.
Steve gets troubling news from Johnny.
So, what do you think will happen when Kristen finds that the woman she thought she murdered and framed (making it looking like a suicide) is alive and well and working in a diner far away from Salem? Was Rita more involved with Stefano DiMera than we even know? Who is the birth mother of Dominic? Is it really Marlena or did someone else carrying her child? And what of Dante? Why is he back in Salem? To get at Philip, or something else? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
Days Of Our Lives
‘General Hospital’ Alum Tajh Bellow Fills In for ‘Days of our Lives’ Tyler Joseph Andrews in the Role of Theo Carver
After an earlier post on Thursday, October 1 about General Hospital alumni Tajh Bellow’s (ex-TJ Ashford) upcoming project from Issa Rae’s HOOPAE Digital, comes word that Bellow is temporarily stepping into the role of Days of our Lives Theo Carver to fill in for Tyler Joseph Andrews on the Peacock streaming soap opera.
According to TV Insider, Bellow will be making a one-day appearance next week on the October 6 episode of DAYS as Andrews was unable to make the tape date that was shot 10 months ago on a day last December. Andrews (pictured below) took over the role of Theo in September of 2025.
In Bellow’s upcoming episode as Theo, he will share scenes with Cherie Jimenez (Gabi Hernandez). A DAYS spokesperson tells the outlet that Bellow “stepped seamlessly into the role, and the cast and crew were grateful for his professionalism and commitment, albeit for only one episode.”
Photo: JPI
TAJH WILL BE SEEN IN MULTIPLE PROJECTS IN OCTOBER
As General Hospital fans know, Tajh played the role of TJ Ashford from 2018 to his last appearance in December of 2024. Along the way, he received two Daytime Emmy nominations for his performances as TJ, the last being in 2025 in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series category.
In addition, bellow along with Y&R alum Loren Lott will be seen starting on October 14 in the new Love Island spoof series, The Compatibility Experiment. The show will drop exclusively on TikTok and the PineDrama platform.
The Compatibility Experiment gives a satirical look at reality dating shows, think Love Island! The story centers around Kelvin (Bellow) and Camila (Lott), whose relationship is put to the test when they join a reality show to try to win a the million dollar prize.
So, what do you think of Tajh stepping in for Tyler Joseph Andrews as Theo on DAYS? Perhaps, the soap opera liked his work that he might be considered for another role in the future bringing Bellow back to the soaps? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below.
Four cast members are officially on contract at Days of our Lives, according to the soap opera’s closing credits on Peacock and longtime Days expert and historian Jason 47.
Lauren Koslow (Kate), Sydney Malakeh (Sydney), Sal Stowers (Lani) and Jacob Martinez (Javi) are the names that appear in the closing credits in the contracted cast members section. Days of our Lives fans also note that the series tapes ten months in advance of streaming episodes.
As Days of our Lives fans know, Lauren Koslow has played Kate Roberts since 1996, and recently filled-in for Jess Walton in the role of Jill Abbott on The Young and the Restless when Walton was unable to travel from Oregon to Los Angeles during the specific tape dates. But now, Koslow has been re-upped to contract status as of the September 8 episode.
Photo: JPI
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED
Sydney Malakeh is the newest member of the contract players when she debuted on contract status on the September 10th episode. Days fans first met Sami (Alison Sweeney) and EJ’s (Dan Feuerriegel) daughter in scenes in Monte Carlo around a gambling table.
As for Sal Stowers, the actress had been on contract from 2015-2022, then on recurring status with the soap, and would make appearances and limited runs since 2023. Soap fans first saw Sal as Cassandra Foster on Prospect Park’s revival of All My Children in 2013. Sal’s first new contracted episode was noted to be September 16.
Jacob Martinez, debuted on June 30 of this year as the successor to Al Calderon in the role of Javi Hernandez, and has now been bumped up to series regular as of the September 10 episode.
Photo: JPI
CREDITS
According to the referenced posting from Days of our Lives expert and historian Jason 47, he shared, “It took me four weeks to realize, but the same week that Sydney Malakeh (Sydney) debuted (9/7-9/11), “Days” also put Lauren Koslow (Kate), Jacob Richard Martinez (Javi) and Sal Stowers (Lani) on contract.”
Jason47 added, “This confirms the “errors” of Lani being listed in the credits the week of 9/7 but not appearing, and Kate and Javi appearing in the credits the week of 9/14 but not appearing. It also now makes sense why Javi and Sydney are being listed before Rafe and Philip in the credits.”
He also shared, “For the record, Lauren Koslow’s first date back on contract was 9/8, Jacob Richard Martinez was upped to contract on 9/10, Sydney Malakeh debuted on contract 9/10 and Sal Stowers’ first date back on contract was 9/16. The records will be fixed on the website in the coming days.”
So, glad to hear Lauren, Sydney, Sal and Jacob appear to be on contract with Days of our Lives (as of these episode airings)? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
Mark Consuelos Celebrates Kelly Ripa’s 56th Birthday on ‘Live,’ But Remember When Wendy Williams Outed the Couple as Married Before Anyone at ‘All My Children’ Knew?
DAYS OF OUR LIVES Preview: Kristen Locates an Alive Sophia, How Much Does Rita Know About the Birth of Dominic Marino?
TUNE-IN: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Banneker Homecoming Episodes, EP Sheila Ducksworth Speaks on Impact HBCUs Have in Real Life
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sonny Tells Dante, “I Don’t Want a Son Like You,” While Michael Tells Brook Lynn to Bide Her Time Till Chase and Willow Have an Affair
‘General Hospital’ Alum Tajh Bellow Fills In for ‘Days of our Lives’ Tyler Joseph Andrews in the Role of Theo Carver
REPORT: ‘Days of our Lives’ Puts Four Actors On Contract
‘Beyond the Gates’ Honors HBCU Tradition with Banneker University Homecoming Episodes
Alley Mills Returns to ‘General Hospital’ as Heather Webber
Judith Light Joins Cast of ‘Shrinking’ Season 4 in Recurring Role
‘Beyond the Gates’ Marquita Goings Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’
Mark Consuelos Celebrates Kelly Ripa’s 56th Birthday on ‘Live,’ But Remember When Wendy Williams Outed the Couple as Married Before Anyone at ‘All My Children’ Knew?
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sonny Tells Dante, “I Don’t Want a Son Like You,” While Michael Tells Brook Lynn to Bide Her Time Till Chase and Willow Have an Affair
GH Alum Tajh Bellow and Y&R Alum Loren Lott Star in New Tiktok and Microdrama ‘Love Island’ Spoof
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ava and Drew Revealed to be Behind Framing Sonny for Sidwell’s Prison Beatdown
DANCING WITH THE STARS: Britt Stewart Visibly Upset After Shocking Elimination with Taylor Hanson
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