Emmy Rossum Stuns Social Media With Sudden 'Shameless' Exit

After Emmy Rossum made an abrupt announcement Thursday saying she will be leaving Shameless, fans [...]

By Libby Birk

After Emmy Rossum made an abrupt announcement Thursday saying she will be leaving Shameless, fans of the Showtime series took to social media to mourn the loss of their favorite character.

Many wondered how the show could possibly go on without its main character.

"Whaaaat?! How does #Shameless even go on without her? Fiona is the heart of the entire show & connecting puzzle piece to each character. Noooooooooo," one fan wrote.

"Then end the show. Fiona is the most important character, there's no doubt about it," another said.

"The Gallagher home won't be the same without Fiona!!!! Those of us fans have watched these kids grow too and you have always been the staple. I'm sure no matter what you venture into, will be great, but just know that you will be terribly missed by your Shameless fans!!!" one person wrote on Rossum's Facebook announcement.

Others lamented the fact that Rossum never won an Emmy Award or Golden Globe for her performance.

"Sad to hear, she has always been magnificent on the show, in Season 4 in particular, she was utterly outstanding, and it is still a travesty she never got any recognition, such as an Emmy Award, that Season. But best of luck to her in her future endeavors," one fan wrote.

"i can't believe emmy rossum is really about to leave shameless without winning one damn award for her amazing portrayal of fiona gallagher. miss rossum, i'm so sorry we failed you," one Twitter user wrote.

Some were simply sad to hear the news.

"Noooo this can't be happening," one person said.

"Emmy Rossum leaving Shameless is not the news I needed today," someone tweeted.

Rossum, who has played Gallagher family matriarch Fiona for the show's nine seasons, left a lengthy, heartfelt statement on Facebook calling her eight years on the show "the best of my life."

"The opportunity to play Fiona has been a gift. There are few characters — female or otherwise — as layered and dynamic. She is a mother lion, fierce, flawed and sexually liberated," she wrote, in part. "She is injured, vulnerable, but will never give up. She is living in an economic depression, but refuses to be depressed. She is resourceful. She is loyal. She is brave."

"I knew it the second I read the pilot script, this was different, this was special. I tirelessly prepped the audition with my coach Terry Knickerbocker. I walked to the appointment in the rain so I looked disheveled," Rossum continued, recounting her audition process. "During my third audition, when I got the part IN the room, I literally jumped up and down screaming in joyous relief and disbelief."

She went on to discuss how much her on-set family means to her, saying "even off set, it feels real."

"We've watched the kids grow up into the strong, talented, independent human beings that they are. I taught Emma to shave her legs," she revealed. "I was there when Ethan learned to drive. Shanola and Jeremy and Joan and Bill danced at my wedding in New York last year."

"Our fearless leader John Wells thankfully held Sam and me up on those rickety chairs during the hora. I've spent the Jewish holy days in temple with David Nevins and his wonderful wife and kids," she went on to say. "It really feels like a family."

She concluded, saying that she knows the show and fans will "continue on without" her and that "there is much more Gallagher story to be told."

"I will always be rooting for my family," she finally said. "Try not to think of me as gone, just think of me as moving down the block."

Shameless season 9 premieres Sunday, Sept. 9 at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime.

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