Emmy Rossum Unleashes the Raw Truth Behind Her Explosive Exit from ‘Shameless’

Emmy Rossum ripped the lid off her exit from “Shameless” during a recent appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, revealing the gritty details behind her decision to leave the show after 110 episodes.

Rossum portrayed Fiona, the fierce eldest sibling of the Gallagher clan, navigating life with an absent mother and an alcoholic father. She departed at the end of Season 9, while the series limped on for two more seasons, featuring a cast that included William H. Macy and Jeremy Allen White.

“By the time I left and they offered us two more years, I had already started my production company,” Rossum stated, emphasizing her shift in focus. “I had set up my first show [“Angelyne”], and I was greenlit and getting ready to make it.”

Her production company, Composition 8, is now in full swing. Rossum serves as an executive producer on the upcoming Hulu series “Furious,” where she plays FBI agent Alice Black, chasing down a female serial killer in New York City.

Despite rampant speculation that she was leaving to start a family, Rossum shot that down hard: “That could not be further from the truth.”

“I left to go make the show I had been developing,” she explained. “Our showrunner John Wells encouraged me to get in the driver’s seat of my own career and make my own shows.” She admitted her departure came with “a lot of grief and sorrow.”

By the end of “Shameless,” she had directed two episodes, showcasing her desire to expand her creative control.

“I wanted to stay in the job. I loved the job. I wasn’t walking away from the job,” Rossum declared. “I loved the job until it felt like there wasn’t enough juice to squeeze out of the lemon.”

Before Season 8 began filming, Rossum’s battle for equal pay made headlines. She fought for a salary equal to Macy’s, earning $350,000 per episode in her final season. On the podcast, she suggested that the network might have leaked details of her negotiations to the press.

“It’s a private business negotiation, and I never imagined it would become public,” she said, highlighting the fallout for both cast and crew.

Once public opinion rallied behind her regarding pay disparity, the network scrambled to offer her a new contract, allowing her to successfully negotiate an increase.

“It’s always scary asking for what you think you’re worth,” Rossum noted. “To say, ‘I think this is what I’m worth,’ you have to take up space in the room.”

The first three episodes of “Furious” stream on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ starting Monday, with new episodes dropping weekly through its finale on Aug. 31.