Friends of Anna Faris say it was hurtful to see Chuck Lorre take aim at her in his new memoir, “Sitcom,” which addresses her departure from his CBS series Mom. Lorre, 73, wrote that his early doubts about casting Faris, 49, in the show were ultimately proven right, according to Page Six.
Faris spent seven years on Mom before leaving after the show’s seventh season, playing recovering alcoholic Christy Plunkett opposite Allison Janney’s Bonnie Plunkett. The series ran from 2013 to 2020 with Faris and Janney as its leads.
What Lorre Wrote About Anna Faris
In his memoir, Lorre recalled that he was not CBS’s pick for Christy at first and had reservations about Faris despite the network favoring her for the role. “I wasn’t sure Anna would be appropriate for this kind of material. Then I thought about how badly I’d bungled my working relationship with Charlie Sheen,” Lorre wrote, referencing his strained history with Sheen on Two and a Half Men, according to Page Six.
That reflection pushed him to move past his hesitation. “Someone’s personal life is none of my business. The mom in ‘Mom’ would be, and should be, Anna Faris,” Lorre wrote.
But Lorre’s tone shifted when describing Faris’s eventual exit. “As the years went by, it became apparent that my initial reluctance to hire Anna was, in fact, correct. After six years, she left the show for mysterious reasons that were not mysterious to anyone on the show,” he wrote, according to Page Six.
What It Means For Anna Faris’s Mom Legacy
The Anna Faris Chuck Lorre memoir criticism has rankled people close to the actress. Friends told TMZ that Lorre’s comments were “s****y” and that it was beneath him to take shots at Faris while promoting his book, especially given how much she contributed to the show’s success. Those close to Faris called the remarks absurd, pointing out that she spent seven years making audiences laugh and helping build the series into a hit, according to TMZ.
Faris has previously spoken about the toll the show took on her. Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in June, she described the period surrounding her decision to leave as complicated. “I do think the intensity, like, towards the end, I think I started to lose my focus.
I’d never had a job, besides waitressing, for over three and a half months before,” Faris said. She added that she remains hesitant to revisit the full story of her time on the show.
Background On Her Departure From Mom
Faris first announced she was leaving Mom in 2020, ahead of the show’s eighth-season premiere. At the time, she framed her exit warmly. “The past seven years on Mom have been some of the most fulfilling and rewarding of my career.
I’m so thankful to [Chuck Lorre], the writers, and my amazing castmates for creating a truly wonderful work experience. While my journey as Christy has come to an end, allowing me to pursue new opportunities, I’ll be watching next season and rooting for my TV family,” she said, according to E! News.
The show wrote off her character by having Christy announce she was studying law at Georgetown. CBS continued Mom for one more season without Faris before canceling the series after eight seasons in 2021.
What’s Next
Neither Lorre nor Faris has issued a statement addressing the other’s comments since the memoir’s publication. “Sitcom” remains Lorre’s account of the show’s run, while Faris’s most detailed public remarks on her exit remain her June appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
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