Watch: Jaime Pressly Details Working With Costars on Mom Amid Anna Faris, Chuck Lorre Drama
For Jaime Pressly, working on Mom was not just another acting credit.
After the show’s creator Chuck Lorre dissed Pressly’s former costar Anna Faris’ casting in the show, the Not Another Teen Movie actress—who appeared on the sitcom across seven seasons—shared insight into her time working on the series.
“I was there for seven years, but there [were] eight seasons,” Pressly—who played Jill Kendall in the show—exclusively told E! News at the Alice + Olivia breast cancer event Oct. 16, which raised proceeds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. “I came on in the second season, but I had seven wonderful years of working with an incredible crew and an incredible cast of women, who were, all of us, just as beautifully flawed as our characters on the show were.”
And it was those costars—which also included Allison Janney, Mimi Kennedy and Beth Hall—that made the experience so special.
“And I think I just really thoroughly enjoyed being able to go to work with girlfriends every day,” she added. “All of us of a certain age, it was nice. It was refreshing.”
But they haven’t been the only stars to leave a mark on Pressly over the years. Indeed, the My Name Is Earl actress also touched on her time working with costars Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts and Sarah Paulson in All’s Fair.
“I had the best time,” she explained. “Kim’s a sweetheart and working with Naomi Watts, who I worked with most, she’s a love. I fell in love with her and I know that when you watch the show, they’re all intimidating because that’s what they’re supposed to be, but they are all some of the sweetest, most generous women.”
Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for ALICE + OLIVIA
Pressly’s comments come after Lorre wrote in his new memoir Sitcom that Faris’ departure from Mom in 2020 validated his initial doubts about casting her.
“I wasn’t sure Anna would be appropriate for this kind of material,” Lorre explained in his book. “Then I thought about how badly I’d bungled my working relationship with Charlie Sheen.”
“As the years went by, it became apparent that my initial reluctance to hire Anna was, in fact, correct,” he continued. “After six years, she left the show for mysterious reasons that were not mysterious to anyone on the show.”
Shortly after the revelation, Faris—mom to son Jack, 14, with ex-husband Chris Pratt—addressed his comments.
Photo by Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images
“Of course it hurts,” Faris wrote on Instagram Oct. 15. “Chuck gave me a job I loved, and for seven years I never took a day of it for granted. I’m proud of what we made together, and nothing changes how grateful I am for those people and those years.”
And seemingly in response to Lorre’s comments about her struggling behind-the-scenes, the 49-year-old explained how she’s made personal strides after portraying recovering alcoholic Christy Plunkett on the show, which premiered in 2013.
“I’ve been sober for a year and a half,” she continued. “I was on a show about recovery and then I lived it. Now I’m healthy, I’m working, and I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time.”
But Faris isn’t the only star to walk away from a hit show. Keep reading for more actors who shocked fans with their departures…
Disney/Eric McCandless
Griffin Nagel/Bravo
Peter Gordon/NBC
Lori Allen/NBC
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Virginia Sherwood/NBC
Michael Yarish /Paramount+
Clifton Prescod/Bravo
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Disney/Mike Taing
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Warrick Page/HBO Max
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Virginia Sherwood/NBC
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Bravo/Danielle Levitt
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Todd Williamson/NBC
Disney/Bahareh Ritter
HBO Max/Warrick Page
Liane Hentscher/HBO
Disney/Christopher Willard
Clifton Prescod/Bravo
Netflix
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