Shameless' Emma Kenney Says Emmy Rossum's Exit Made Set Feel 'More Positive' 

Honestly I was so sad after Fiona left, but Fiona was stuck in this sad cycle for about three seasons where she’d get her shit together than fall apart and she felt stuck.

I’m not hating on her opinion but Emmy carried the show, she was most definitely the glue. It’s sad how they didn’t respect enough to pay her what she was worth. The show was about family and when she left it had a big effect, the rating took a hit

I think we can all agree the show went down hill after Rossum left. Rossum kept them employed.

“I heard she had a baby” damn so they’re complete strangers now

I Thought it was the perfect time for Fiona to leave because everyone was pretty much an adult and she had raised them and it was time for Fiona to take care of herself and put herself first, so it made sense.

I'm interested in hearing what the rest of the cast have to say about what Emma said about Emmy Rossum.

she had every right to have that attitude. Emmy carried the show and she wasn’t getting paid what she really deserved.after Fiona left the show got really boring.

After Fiona Left. Ian and Mickey Carried the Show.

"I have a lot of love for her" after talking smack. Uh huh.

Some people have different personalities and not everyone has to be friends. Just because you feel the tension toward someone doesn’t mean that person is negative. Not everyone you meet have to be friendly, some people are just there to work.

One day Emma will understand what Emmy was dealing with and she will look back and regret throwing her under the bus. I've been in Emma's headspace, she was taught to keep quiet and accept bad treatment. It feels like a betrayal to see others stand up for themselves, until you realize the anger is justified. I wish Emma peace, and I hope she realizes she was never competing with Emmy, she was a kid and Emmy was an adult with a huge career. I wish her peace and understanding.

This is really interesting to hear. I’ve been Shameless obsessed for years. It’s my go-to binge show.

love how everyone is invalidating someones feelings all because the other person was a good actor and the show focused on their character

Not a good move to say such negative things in the interview. If you're going to leave it as you want to have a relationship with her and you'll miss her... You should have thought about what you were saying about her. Everything you say about another person in the entertainment industry affects their career and likeliness of being hired or desired. You don't want bad blood honey but you just stirred the pot. Maybe you just like making bad blood.

She was probably stressed of carrying the whole show in her back all these years.

This isn’t bad at all. It’s a casual mention of a family style work situation developing over years. Y’all stop acting like you like your family all the time. I found nothing wrong 😑

They were pitted against each other because they were the two sisters in the family. That’s it. And yes it is really weird considering their age gap. If it was a nine-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man they would likely not be pitted against each other so quickly.

I feel like she’s being petty. On one hand she says- “I have a lot of love for her, we’re like sisters” and stuff and then suggests that Emmy was being a diva on set, and had negative energy. Just another actress, throwing shade at who she perceives is her competition.

Emmy rossum was able to keep up with william h. macy in every scene That’s not an easy task even for established actors

Even though I missed her it was one of the best tv exits I can remember. No other character deserves to disappear and never be heard from again more than her. In Fiona’s shoes I’d be GONE and unreachable except maybe by postcard.

I feel this girl is a double edge sword and I don't like when other actresses down talk each other. Reality is Emmy is a long time actress with lots of great roles behind her. It almost a sense of jealousy and competition on this girl's part.

This was tactless and unnecessary. Nobody's perfect and if you're being devalued and working your ass off, guess what...you're not going to be sweet and stellar. It's human. Emma is clearly very young. But this is a huge no. What's the point? Or motive? Shows over everyone is moving on with life, why should anything about your costars come out of your mouth after the fact? I'm sure growing up on the show Emma has had her less than perfect moments and isn't always a ray of sunshine. Working on set sometimes 12, 14, even 16hrs a day you'll get on each others nerves. You'll sometimes say the wrong thing. It's human, it's family. Why open your big mouth about it years after. Totally suspect. Also this to me does not put Emma in a good light. Also if Emmy were a problem, or had a bad attitude why do I only hear compliments from her other costars? Cameron and William have nothing but good things to say about her. And it sounds like Emmy cared enough to give her advice but she just didn't like it. And maybe was hard on her. This could all easily be misconstrued. Really suspect 🤔

They probably had a little sister ,and big sister relationship all while being colleagues at the same time. emmy was also the basis of the show, and it ran for almost 10 years I feel like that stuff is inevitable I'm just sad that they didn't come out stronger ,and still in touch afterward.

Let’s be honest the show started to go downhill around season six Emmy got out while she still could

There was definitely a weird competition vibe of who's the better actress. When Emmy left and the show wasn't as good, it left emma salty is all cause she thought she'd be the new star. so she aired out that Emmy Rossum isn't a perfect ray of sunshine and has bad days haha

Say what you want about her as a person but she carried this show for years and its not as good without her. She was the best character.

Although there's probably some truth in Emma's words, what good does it do? As with any job, its better to leave stuff in the past, and if you still have an axe to grind, call 'em up and talk it out one-on-one.

Miss girl really just stirred the pot now I know why I slightly disliked Debbie

she's got to be delusional to think emmy thought of her as competition when she was 9 years old. come on. she was the star and even when emma got older she would never be able to compare lets be real.

So Emma was a jerk in the show and in real life, got it.

at least shes honest, whenever i saw photos especially ones with season 1 emmy & season 1 emma they looked they genuinely liked eachother, of course they don’t hate eachother but yea

The show started going down after season 5. When Emmy wanted to leave it should have been the end. Emma is cute but Debbie came to be the worst character for me.

She gave her honest opinion of her over all experience. Still love shameless ❤️

Ouch. Was this necessary?

Many of the people in comments are talking about Fiona, this is about Emmy, we have to separate character from the actor, you never know how a person behaves off screen unless you've worked with them, so you can't predict their real life behaviour through a show character ffs. They might have had problems with her if the cast is saying so

I see why celebs don't like doing interviews, everything she said and yall ran w/ this as the title lol messy!

As a child performer, I completely understand where she is coming from. At a certain age, your female peers will start to treat you like competition. They will subtly start to behave differently in little ways, and you will genuinely have no idea why. As a child you will not understand that the pressures put on young women will force them to compete with every other woman around them. Usually an older woman will see that dynamic, and hopefully explain what is going on to you. My mom did that for me, although, her response was to be more aggressive when I think the appropriate one would to be more assertive and confident in your space.

Fiona was my favorite character. I was always rooting for her to get her life together. The show is not the same without her.

I watch shameless when I feel like my life is going downhill. I watch the show for inspiration to pick myself up. There are families in real life that suffer from the same disfunctional traits.

After watching that Hollywood actresses Roundtable episode with Emmy in it, I definitely caught that attitude, she was embarrassing to watch. You can be a good actress and a shitty person. I loved Fiona, Emmy not so much.

Emma’s feelings are valid about Emmy. Regardless Emmy is a phenomenal actress, and I would love to see another show with her in it. Sometimes coworkers don’t get along. Sometimes they do. It’s a fact of life.

Can we also factor in the characters these two girls played? They were NOT on a sunshine and rainbows type of show, they were on a show where EXTREMELY dark things happened literally every other scene. It makes perfect sense to me to not be in a happy-go-lucky kind of mood all the time, or even very often at all. Fiona's NOT a happy character, in fact she's a tortured character who has been a victim of her life's circumstances all her life. Idk to what levels Emmy infected everyone else with her negative mood, but if her crime was just being negative or unhappy at ALL then I think that's pretty unfair. It's actually not difficult to be negative in a way that's infectious, like even if you're just quieter than usual or even just a bit snappy, people who know you can pick up on it and it can effect their moods too. Fiona's the type of character where Emmy would BENEFIT having her head in that headspace to play her, and Emma didn't say Emmy was cruel or irrationally unkind, just that Emmy had an infectious negativity and had given her bad advice. Emma is making it seem like it was deliberate bad advice, but we don't have any concept for what that advice was, or what made it bad advice. And whether advice is good or not is almost ENTIRELY subjective. Emma could've considered it bad advice but EMMY could disagree entirely and consider it perfectly reasonable advice. I just don't think anyone should take Emma's perspective alone as "proof" that Emmy is a mean person.

I heard she can be a lot to handle on set. I figure that worked well for the show. Shes a great actress. Such a crazy range of emotions.

Emmy would yell at other actors constantly and was extremely rude. This isn't just Emma being naive, everybody on the show pretty much hated emmy. She's nothing like fiona at all, and no she didn't carry the show, Fiona carried her family. There's a pretty big difference.

That's her opinion.. why do people have something to say like they were on the show....if she had a problem she had a problem...

It feels like Hollywood really has never appreciated Emmy's talent. She can sing, act, dance, etc. That being said... an entertainer is an entertainer... doesn't mean they can be jerks to others. Paychecks should reflect talent

I LOVED shameless. I haven't been that emotionally invested in a show since the OC lol. Being the eldest of 5 and raised by a single drug addicted parent, I felt a strong connection to Fiona in particular. After Emmy left, I still watched out of desperation but the show just wasn't the same. It lacked the authenticity it once had. Anyway I can definitely see Emmy being bitchy, because I'm bitchy, and it takes one to know one lol🤗 No but even on actors roundtable discussion, she was sort of stuck up and snooty. Especially to America Ferrara...

Debbie was the worst character in Shameless. She was so cringe. Almost made me stop watching it. Fiona and Lip carried the show.

Not mad at either one. Honestly good for Emma for saying how she truly felt. Good for Emmy on leaving.

my mom worked on shameless as a grip for seasons 7,8, and 9 and Emmy Rossum did actually act like a drama queen on set. She always had to be the center of attention, ie: randomly BURSTING into loud song, and would make very weird comments instigating conflict or tension, she also talked about how much she paid for things a lot, like her mortgage for example.

i just realised their names are basically the same except for the last letter 😭 & they’re the only girls in the family

Sounds like she feels slighted. Like she was saddened and offended by the fact that their relationship had not carried past the show. She wanted Emmy to get a message. Not sure if this is the right portal though

I can definitely see it though. Ive watched some interviews with Emmy and she can rub me the wrong way/ come off rude at times :(

The show was definitely not the same when Emmy left. Should of been Emma instead.

Idk if what Emma is saying is true or not, however it’s risky to bad mouth your cast in Hollywood. It just doesn’t look good. You need to keep it professional.

Why does it sound like Emma wanted Emmy to be a parent ? Emmy was a teenager and she has her own emotions and life. They were co workers and Emmy isn't responsible to making a child on set feel better

Emmy, carried the show with the personality she had, on or off show. The show is no better with her on the sidelines. In fact i stopped watching it because.

“I’m sure she’s going to be a lovely mother” the shade

it wasn’t talking smack she was telling the truth from her own experience with her i guess yall expect everyone to say what yall want to hear but as both women growing up in the entertainment industry is hard and yeaaa she shorty might have made shit a lil annoying on set but they said that about a lot people we like so for her she is just answering the question as truthful and positive as she can yall just want to make anything negative

It’s sad actually, but this happens a lot. Emmy has always had a dominant personality, you see it in interviews all the time, so it may be difficult to work with sometimes. People think Emma’s throwing her under the bus but if anything it just shows that things can be rough or borderline toxic in work environments. I am not hating on Emmy, but even someone who works hard as her needs to be less headstrong when around others you’re with months at a time.

Just because someone seems nice doesn’t mean they’re nice to everybody. I can relate to this

Maybe it isn't emmy. Maybe it was this girl being a spoiled little brat because she was literally born on set. Why is it this girl is the only one complaining? Gotta consider the source.

Honestly I don’t blame Emmy. The didn’t let her keep her natural hair for 9 years which caused great damages to her hair, I believe they didn’t accommodate to her celiac on set, and on top of that she wasn’t being paid the same as William despite carrying the show on her back. I’d be grumpy on set too

More actors should be as honest as this. Anyone that makes the workplace toxic for everyone else just because they’re in a mood is a bad Apple. And WAY too many people in Hollywood get away with it.

Shes worked with her since she was a little girl. She has every right to saying what she said. Stop making excuses for grown ass adults

“I know I wasn’t creating the competition”….. yes honey, you clearly were. And basically just admitted you never really liked Emmy without actually having to say it.

i wonder if she only made the set toxic because of how she had to be toxic for her character. like it’s probably hard for actors to go from irritated, stressed burnt out, controlling character to a normal person. debby and fiona were really against each other in the show and fiona was very irritated with debby and had no patience so is it the actor being toxic or an actor having difficulty separating themselves and i’m only saying this because i always hear famous actors saying this. sarah paulson is a wonderful actor and says she struggles mentally and struggles to differentiate acting to reality. Lupita Nyong’o is another wonderful actor and said she was very in the characters in us and had to mentally prepare for her roles and physically prepare for the voice

Oh man. I definitely wouldn't brush this tension off. I love Emmy Rossum and her work, but this sounds like a complicated dynamic. Emma Kenney (Debbie) was so young when the show started, and impressionable. Kids see a lot.

Just cause she carried the show doesn’t mean she didn’t act like that off cameras

There's this thing where people can speak their truth and own it and unfortunately this is Emma's truth. In fact most of these comments are giving credence to her point. You can like the CHARACTER Fiona, and appreciate the fact that the actress who played her, wasn't the nicest person, and not pit them against each other 🤯

Honestly, Emma should of been the one to leave. We ALL DISLIKE DEBBIE

She kept you employed 😩 that show is going down hills 🤷🏽‍♀️

That's enough shade to end global warming!!!!" 🤐🤭😏😒

can someone have a feeling towards someone whether it’s negative or positive, and let that be that??? She actually worked with her so she definitely knows her more then us u weirdos

Why is it that individuals are excused or given passes when they behave badly all because they are deemed important. Regardless to the circumstances, it still doesn't make it ok or right when one individual behavior is impacting others around them in a very negative way. Everyone should be held a the same standard regardless to how important they believe they're or how others impressed upon them that they're so important. That's what wrong with our society in this day and age.

Sad that’s the impression that was left. I’ve always wondered how the cast felt about her leaving because she was the heart of the show to me.

Lol Emma Kenney is without a doubt the worst character on the show…Emmy kept them all employed the show is nothing without Emmy Rossum. Such a sad woman that she has to tear down another woman in the business to make herself look better.

Everyone saying Fiona carried the show, Meanwhile I stayed for Lip

If she had a bad day it was a bad day for everyone. Ugh I hate people like that.

the way i cringed reading this headline i'm all for honesty but this makes Emmy seem like a problem actress and that won't help her going forward career wise.

So Emmy was the Lea Michele of shameless ?

Some of you are offended about these comments, but she is not talking about Fiona, she’s talking a about Emmy! Who is human and which makes this could be true!

She's not understanding, Fiona was the person who we all watched shameless for, after Fiona left I stopped watching

That's some serious shade lmao. I haven't watched the show in years though. Wonder how it worked without her.

Can totally see it.

When there is also a toxic role that characters have to play it is an emotional strain on the actors sometimes as well

She knows things ab Emmy, good and bad, and she tells it like it is but that doesnt mean shes a hater. She just knows what we dont know

Emmy is a great actor. And honestly one of the Hottest actors out there.. Love her in COLD PURSUIT.

Everyone’s like “you shouldnt trash talk her it will effect her career.” No ! She did this to herself. Don’t be a bad person and good things will continue to happen

I think its understandable why Emmy was upset those days on set bc of what she was going through but as a little sister whos older sister shares the same age difference with these two I think it's fair to say that Emma probably didn't know how to deal with Emmy being upset over something they both used to love and share with one another. It's sad they dont talk anymore but if its healthier for them then good on them.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with what Emma said. She voiced her opinion and her experience, which she rightfully can. I don’t understand why everyone is mad at her. It’s Emma’s experience and opinion, take it with a grain of salt.

It’s sad popularity gives ppl false narratives just like when rappers get accused of rape and murder and just because their more liked ppl will shun the victims

Not gonna invalidate her feelings, but if Emmy truly had really problematic behavior, I’m sure her other costars would have said something about it as well. But most of the cast only ever has nice things to say about Emmy and still interact with her on social media.

Wow, disappointing. Emma just comes off as immature/ bratty and very unprofessional. Speaking out like this won’t do her any favours, enjoy your 15minutes.

Emmy Rossum carried the whole show tho. She was the reason I started watching it in first place. And her exit from the show made exit too. It's baffling that she was the main character of the show and didn't even get paid as much as the male actors

Emmy isn’t going to respond about what a bratty 22 year old says. She’s not going to give her the attention she’s clearly looking for.

Emmy is not responsible for your happiness, Emma.

Call her daddy is so trashy. The name. The creator. The interviews. It's sick asl.

Fiona deserved her happy ending 🥺

STOP IT people, DID NOT throw shade. She threw a WHOLE FOREST of shady trees.