Shameless star Emmy Rossum initially demanded to be paid the same amount as her costar William H. Macy — but now she wants more, according to a new report.
The 30-year-old actress, who plays lead character Fiona on the hit Showtime series, asked for income equality with Macy, 66, who stars as Frank Gallagher, for the show’s potential eighth season, Variety reports. An insider told Variety that Rossum was offered pay parity months ago, but now she’s asking to be the highest-paid actor on the comedy series.
The reason she’s holding out for more is to “make up for the previous seasons where she was making significantly less than him,” according to Variety’s source.
A source close to Shameless told Variety that by offering Rossum and Macy the same salary, the network and studio are “clearly acknowledging her importance to the show.” Producers have not even considered a plan to continue Shameless without her, the source said.
Showtime and Warner Bros. TV declined to comment to Variety, and reps for Rossum have not yet responded.
At the start of the show, in 2011, Macy had already won multiple Emmys and received two Golden Globe nominations and an Oscar nomination, while Rossum — who had a Golden Globe nomination for Phantom of the Opera — was not as well known.
In the past few years, equal pay has become a talked-about issue in Hollywood, championed by stars such as Robin Wright, Patricia Arquette and Jennifer Lawrence. The Boyhood actress devoted her acceptance speech at the 2016 Oscars to the issue, and the Hunger Games star wrote a Lenny Letter about Hollywood’s wage gap problem. Wright has also been open about how she fought to be paid the same amount as her costar, Kevin Spacey, on House of Cards.
