General Hospital’s Steve Burton Emmy Night Dispute
Steve Burton sought to take his 12-year-old daughter Brooklyn to the Daytime Emmys, but his ex-wife, Sheree Gustin, allegedly rejected a proposed schedule…
Steve Burton asked to bring his 12-year-old daughter Brooklyn to the Daytime Emmys on October 31, 2026, as an alleged disagreement with his ex-wife Sheree Gustin over the request unfolded in court-submitted texts.
The event was taking place that day, and Burton said he had been nominated. The dispute turned on whether Gustin would agree to swap parenting days so Brooklyn could attend with him.
What did Steve Burton ask for?
Burton proposed picking Brooklyn up Friday morning and taking her back Saturday. In a message submitted to court, he wrote, “I would like Brook there. Let me know. Thanks. I would pick her up Friday morning and take her back Saturday.”
Gustin allegedly replied, “That doesn’t work.” Burton then described the ceremony as “a once-in-a-lifetime” occasion and offered again to exchange days.
Gustin’s reported objection went beyond the proposed schedule. “Once in a lifetime lol? I don't want Brooklyn anywhere near Hollywood or that scene. You plaster her on social media and People magazine enough. Absolutely not,” she allegedly wrote.
The messages frame the immediate disagreement around two specific issues: Burton wanted his daughter at an awards ceremony where he was nominated, while Gustin objected to Brooklyn being near what she called the Hollywood scene. Burton’s proposed pickup and return would have required a change to their schedule, which Gustin did not accept in the exchange.
Why did the Emmy request become a dispute?
Burton said he wanted his daughters with him. In another alleged text, he argued that Gustin had previously been comfortable with the lifestyle connected to his career and said her business was also built on social media, where Brooklyn appeared often.
“For years you were perfectly comfortable with the lifestyle that came from my career in that world. And even now, your whole business is built from social media, which includes Brooklyn a lot,” Burton wrote. He added that he wanted his daughter at the ceremony because he was nominated.
His final message in the reported exchange said, “I'm nominated, and I would love for her to be there with us.” Gustin did not appear to respond to that text.
The reported disagreement also sits within a longer-running dispute about Brooklyn. Burton and Gustin have been going back and forth for months, including over whether their daughter should live in California or Tennessee.
They were married for 23 years before splitting in 2022. For the Emmy appearance, the practical question was whether the proposed swap would allow Brooklyn to attend with her father. Burton’s words in the submitted texts made his reason direct: “I'm nominated, and I would love for her to be there with us.”
