Former ‘Shameless’ Star Emmy Rossum Tweets Message During Season 9 Premiere

Emmy Rossum took to Twitter to explain her absence at the Shameless season 9 premiere party Sunday night.

The 31-year-old actress, who announced earlier this month that she’d be leaving Shameless following the end of the Showtime dramedy’s ninth season, said that she was “sad to miss the premiere party.”

“I was so sad to miss the premiere party tonight for Shameless. Sadly, I had to attend a funeral in New York. All my love to my cast. It’s gonna be a great season,” Rossum wrote on Sunday night, the night the first episode of her final season aired.

Rossum announced her departure from the groundbreaking show earlier this month in a lengthy Facebook post that expressed gratitude to her Shameless co-workers and fans.

“My Shameless family is really my second family and I’ve spent so much time with them — 10,000 hours — that it really feels like we’ve all grown up together,” she told Entertainment Weekly after initially announcing the news. “I started on the show when I was 23 and now I’m not. And it’s a wonderful, wonderful amount of time and I feel incredibly proud of everything we have created. I’m just filled with gratitude for everyone’s hard work.”

She added that she can’t say goodbye to her character, Gallagher family matriarch Fiona.

“I will never be saying goodbye to Fiona,” she said. “Fiona is a part of me and has been like every character is a part of you and you are a little bit part of them.

As for how the show will deal with the departure of Fiona, series creator and showrunner John Wells promised that he will leave the door open for Rossum to return for visits — or for good — in later seasons.

“It is always bittersweet when an ensemble member decides to move out of the proverbial house, but our door will always remain open for Fiona to return home for a visit, or to move back in,” Wells said in a statement shortly following the news that Rossum would be leaving.

Rossum’s co-stars, like Emma Kenney and William H. Macy, have also spoken out about the exit. Kenney, who plays Debbie Gallagher, told Us Weekly last week that she’s grateful for everything Rossum has contributed to their show.

“You know, we’re all really close so we all are kind of in the same loop … We’ve had nine amazing seasons with Emmy helping guide the ship and I’m so grateful for that,” Kenney said. “She’s been such a rock and such a focal point of our show, and I think she’s brought in so much confidence and given so many people a voice on our set, and I’m really grateful for that.”

“I think that Emmy’s a powerful woman and she’s going to continue doing amazing things in her career and life,” Kenney added. “We support her!”

Macy told Entertainment Weekly that he thinks Rossum “made the right choice.”

“We’ve been expecting it,” the actor said. “I tell you, when you get to season 9 and you think of [whether] to keep going, it’s daunting.”

“It’s hard not to think of: ‘What would my life be post-Shameless?’ And part of it is very frightening and part of it is very exciting,” He added. “She’s young and I think she’s made the right choice.”

Shameless airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime.