Actress Emmy Rossum has revealed on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast that her years-long fight for equal pay on the Showtime drama "Shameless" was only resolved after her contract negotiations were leaked to the public in late 2016. Having spent more than five years pressing for a salary she felt reflected her worth, Rossum said the dispute was settled "within a day" once the story broke and generated a wave of public support in her favour, highlighting how public pressure can succeed where private negotiation stalls.

Rossum, who played co-lead Fiona Gallagher opposite William H. Macy's Frank, first sought a pay rise around Season 3 and was refused, and her efforts reached breaking point ahead of Season 8 when talks hit a standstill. She said she had never intended for the negotiation to become public and had stayed silent, but the coverage prompted widespread surprise that she was not already paid equally. Macy publicly backed her, telling TMZ it was "about fucking time" she was paid fairly. Rossum ultimately returned for Season 8, left after Season 9 to develop other projects and run her production company, and said her exit was unrelated to the pay dispute.