Showtime Boss Says Emmy Rossum's Fight for Equal Pay on 'Shameless' Was 'Justified'

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Showtime is happy to show Emmy Rossum the money!

After seven seasons of being paid less than her Shameless co-star, William H. Macy, Rossum successfully renegotiated her contract ahead of the series' eighth season and is now rumored to be making the same, if not more, than Macy.

"Just to be clear, it felt like [salary] parity was very justified in this case and we were abdicating for that from the beginning," Showtime's President of Programming, David Nevins, told reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Monday.


MORE: Emmy Rossum Resolves Equal Pay Dispute, Signs on for Season 8 of 'Shameless'

"We've now worked something out that is great for her, great for us," Nevins continued. "Emmy has been a force on that show in a great way -- both, obviously, with what she does in front of the camera, but also she's a great leader on the set behind the camera. She directed this year and she will continue to direct."

Nevins added that, overall, the premium cable's negotiations with Rossum was "a good process" and he's thrilled to watch the dramedy continue with her and Macy at the helm.

In an interview with TMZ in December, Macy expressed his full support of Rossum, stating, "They wrote the Equal Rights Amendment in 1927, it didn’t get passed until 1972. It still hasn’t been approved by all the states, therefore is didn't make it as an Amendment to the Constitution. It’s about f**king time, don’t you think?"


EXCLUSIVE: Felicity Huffman Gushes About William H. Macy's Support of Emmy Rossum's Equal Pay Battle


ET caught up with Macy's wife
, Felicity Huffman, on the Golden Globes red carpet on Sunday, and the American Crime actress gushed over her husband's fevered support for Rossum to receive equal pay.

"It was an 'of course' moment," Huffman said to ET's Nancy O'Dell. "I mean, Bill loves women and thinks there should be equal rights, and the fact it hasn't been ratified since, what, 1927, is pretty shocking. So of course he's going to stand up and say a woman should make as much as a man."

Press play on our exclusive interview below to watch our full interview with Huffman and find out her biggest red carpet secret!

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