Exclusive: Y&R’s Courtney Hope Barred From Emmy Party

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Winning such a prestigious award like a Daytime Emmy isn't always guaranteed to open doors to other opportunities, as Courtney Hope (Sally, Young and Restless ), learned on the very night she took home the trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actress.

After the conclusion of the televised awards ceremony, Hope was excited to revel in the excitement of the night with her colleagues. "I love getting to celebrate with everyone and seeing who's there and what they are wearing,” Hope marvels. “I just enjoy the whole experience and it was nice to be able to have that. I brought [my Emmy] with me to the party and ate. Then somebody mentioned that last year, someone’s Emmy [statuette] got taken. So, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m bringing this back to my [hotel] room.’ ”

Hope returned to her suite and made sure her Emmy was safely secured behind locked doors before heading back down to the shindig. “They put a little stamp on my hand [when she entered the party] and when I was in my room, I washed my hands and washed the stamp off. And I also switched purses, so I didn't have my ticket anymore.”

When Hope returned, she had no proof that she was even invited to the party. “When I put my hand under the black light [scanner], they were like, ‘Oh, you can't come in, you don't have a stamp,’ ” she recalls. “And I'm like, ‘I was just here!' But the [security] guy who saw me leave the party was no longer there. So, I asked, ‘What am I supposed to do? Go all of the way back to my room?’ Then all of a sudden, someone comes out of the party and was like, ‘ Congratulations !’ I said, ‘Thank you so much,’ and I didn't mean to be pompous, but I looked at the security guards and said, ‘I literally won an Emmy tonight and I was just in there,’ but he goes, 'Sorry.’ And then someone else comes out and congratulated me, and then the two security guards are both contemplating it and I'm thinking ‘I’ll have to go back to my room.’ And then two people walk out and said, ‘ Congratulations . Your speech was amazing.’ And I turned to the security guards and said, ‘Come on guys, really?’ And they both finally said, ‘Okay, fine. You can go in.’ "

While it was a bit nerve-wracking at the time, Hope grins, "Now I can say that what happened to me was really funny.”