KEY POINTS
- Emmy Rossum did not respond to Emma Kenney’s accusations against her
- The actress showed off on Instagram her new award for the podcast she produced
- A number of fans called out Rossum for her alleged behavior on the “Shameless” set
Emmy Rossum has chosen to turn the other cheek after her former “Shameless” co-star Emma Kenney made some shocking accusations against her.
Kenney, 22, recently threw some shade at Rossum, 35, when she dropped by the “Call Her Daddy” podcast Wednesday to talk about the Showtime series, which wrapped up in April after 11 seasons.
The younger actress, who played Debbie Gallagher on the show, said she had “bad days” on set with Rossum, who exited the show in Season 9 after playing the eldest Gallagher sibling, Fiona, since the series premiered.
But instead of addressing the claims Kenney made in the interview, Rossum opted to show off on Instagram the new award won by the podcast she produced, “Alligator Candy.” The audio series followed the mysterious 1973 disappearance of writer David Kushner’s older brother, Jon, in Florida. It was recently announced as the Gold Winner for the 2021 New York Festivals Radio Awards.
“I am so proud of the folks behind this. David Kushner, Composition 8, UCP, and Transmitter Media. You worked so hard and are so deserving of this recognition,” the Critics’ Choice Award winner wrote in the caption.
Although her post was met with many congratulatory messages, a number of fans called her out over Kenney’s revelations about her.
“How could you be mean to Debbie?” one fan asked.
“Lost a lot of respect for you after hearing how rude you were on set to Emma,” another commented.
According to Kenney, the “Shameless” set “became a little bit of a more positive place” after Rossum departed the series. She also said that there were “good and bad” sides to their off-cam relationship.
“I was obviously a lot younger. There were times when she would try to be a good influence, and then there were times where she would be blatantly giving me ... not the best advice,” Kenney said.
However, Kenney chose to give the “Phantom of the Opera” actress the benefit of the doubt, saying, “Maybe she was struggling with her own inner problems and taking it out on other people.”
“I remember before ... her leaving, I'd go to set some days and I'd be very anxious about having a scene with her because if she had a bad day, she made it a bad day for everybody,” the younger actress recalled.
Despite the on-set issues, Kenney said she still has “a lot of love” for her former co-star since their work dynamic was similar to a sisterly kind of relationship. “We haven't spoken in years, but that's OK. I hope that she finds her happiness,” she said.
The Showtime series was an adaptation of a British show that also centered on a dysfunctional family. It ran for 11 seasons and 134 episodes. The show wrapped up its long run earlier this year as production was directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The finale did not give closure to many of the storylines and characters in the series. When showrunner John Wells spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the show ending in April, he explained their decision to end it this way.
“I’ve been pretty fortunate to do a number of longer-running series and, as a fan, I always appreciate things not being wrapped up. … I want to think what I want to think about the characters, where they end up and what happens with them and have the audience have those conversations with others over drinks,” Wells said.
Emmy Rossum is pictured attending the 24th annual Critics’ Choice Awards on Jan. 13, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
