This is how Rossum relates the episode in a recent appearance on Call Her Daddy, explaining that the negotiations for a more equal salary started back in season three. In the first couple of seasons, Rossum was fine making less than William H. Macy, admitting he was a bigger name and his salary “made a lot of sense.” By season three, though, Rossum’s team had the data to prove that she was the breakout character and tried to ask for more, but there was hardly even a conversation at that time. “We didn’t get it… and that’s fine. We tried and we didn’t get it,” she said on the pod (via Variety). “It’s always scary asking for what you think you are worth… It’s their job to make the show for as little as possible to make the most profit. That’s any business. I can understand it from the other perspective, too.”
As the years went on, and Rossum’s Fiona became an even bigger character in the show, more asks went unanswered. Rossum says she was “shook” when the news of the dispute went public. “It’s a private business negotiation, and I never imagined it would become public,” she says. “Not just for the public, but for the cast and crew. Everyone was doing their own negotiation. So I certainly didn’t want that… I didn’t say anything.” Whoever said it, they certainly did Rossum a solid. “After the first headline or article… the tide really shifted,” she continues. “[I]t was resolved within a day. I was shocked, and quite frankly, very, very surprised that we actually got it.” Rossum eventually left the show after its ninth season, not over anything salary-related, but to start developing her show Angelyne on Peacock.
“It was really about being valued equally when I was doing equal work,” Rossum says. “For me, it was as simple as that. I was very, very happy when we got it, and very, very happy for what it seemingly did for other women.” You know what they say about the squeaky wheel: It gets compensated fairly for its work.
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