‘Shameless’ Star Emmy Rossum Blasts Hollywood Director For Sexist Audition Proposal

Shameless has launched actress Emmy Rossum into the outer reaches of stardom, far enough that she rarely has to attend run of the mill auditions. Having a body of work behind her has helped Rossum earn work based solely on her reputation, except in the case of one Hollywood director, who was interested in a body of another sort from Emmy.

Emmy Rossum Is Shameless When It Comes To Dishing Details On Sexist Directors

The call came from Rossum’s director, touting a major production with a big name Hollywood director, but as Vanity Fair reports, there was one catch. While the director had seen Emmy’s work on Shameless and other projects, he felt he needed to see the actress in person. And in a bikini.

Speaking about the incident, which Rossum says took place over a year ago, the Shameless star recalls that even her agent was ashamed to be relaying the request to her from the unnamed director. Emmy says all she had to do was show up in the bikini and the part would be hers, but she hesitated.

Initially, Ms. Rossum admits she did consider the request. After all, she frequently flaunts her figure for Shameless, so it wasn’t like she would be doing something that went against her personal code.

Emmy Rossum Refused To Cater To The Director’s Perversions

Emmy hesitated to consent to the odd interview, even though donning a bikini wouldn’t have been too extreme for her because, as Rossum said during a roundtable discussion hosted by the Hollywood Reporter, the request was not professional. In fact, the Shameless actress says she felt as though the director had a specific agenda for the nearly nude appearance.

“He wanted to know if I was fat now,” surmised Ms. Rossum.

Still, Emmy did request the script, thinking her character might do a scene in a bikini, or even a nude love scene, but there was nothing like that in the entire script.

“‘We really love your work, but we just want to see how tight your a– is,'” Emmy Rossum said, mocking the director’s voice. “Are you f—ing kidding me? Last time I checked, I’m not a f—ing model.”

The incident stays with Emmy because she worries about the message behind her own willingness to consider the request. If she entertained the idea of showing up in a bikini just to get a part in a potential blockbuster, Rossum worries what younger, less experienced actresses are willing to do for their roles.

“She would do it,” admitted Shameless star Emmy Rossum.

[Featured Image by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images]