Emmy Rossum revealed that her years-long battle for equal pay on Shameless was only resolved because news of the dispute was leaked to the public, and even then the turnaround was astonishing.
Speaking on Call her daddy With host Alex Cooper, Rossum described how a wage freeze that had lasted for more than five years was resolved in a single day once the story became public in late 2016.
“I was on a writer’s retreat, and I was procrastinating, and I opened Twitter, and the headline said we were at an impasse, and I was shaken,” she said.
“This is a private commercial negotiation and I never imagined it would become public.”
Within a few hours, the wind reversed.
“People seemed to be writing other articles, like immediately commenting on this, being quite surprised that I wasn’t already paid equally. And it was resolved within a day. I was shocked and frankly, very, very surprised that we actually got it.”
Rossum played Fiona Gallagher, the supremely capable Gallagher older sister, across all 11 seasons of Showtime. Shameless from 2011 to 2021.
William H. Macy was the leading name early on in the series, and Rossum acknowledged that his higher salary “made a lot of sense” early on given his relative inexperience in television.
But Fiona quickly became the show’s breakout character, and Rossum became Macy’s undisputed co-lead. In many episodes, she had more screen time than her character Frank.
His first attempt at renegotiation came before the third season, when his team felt the evidence of his contribution was strong enough to make their case.
This was refused.
“We didn’t succeed…and that’s fine. We tried and we didn’t succeed,” she said, adding with characteristic pragmatism: “It’s always scary to ask what you think you’re worth. It’s their job to make the show as cheaply as possible to make the most profit. It’s any business.”
Similarly, the request before season eight was “shut down pretty quickly”, leaving the situation at an impasse that Rossum was unsure would ever be resolved.
Then the leak happened and everything changed.
Macy had publicly supported her co-star throughout. He said TMZ back when it was “fucking time” she received equal pay, adding: “She works just as hard as I do. She deserves everything.”
At Vulture Fest in 2017, he was equally blunt: “Who’s at the center of the show? It’s Fiona. Of course she should be paid.”
Rossum returned for seasons eight and nine before leaving to focus on her own projects, including developing Peacock’s. Angelyne and creation of a production company.
She was clear that her departure had nothing to do with lingering resentment.
“I just want to stay professional, and I never focus on money, but on what’s right and what’s right,” she told Cooper.
“It was really about being valued equally while doing equal work. For me, it was as simple as that. I was very, very happy when we got it, and very, very happy with what it seemed to have done for other women.”
