Shameless: 20 Things Wrong With Debbie Gallagher We All Choose ...

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Menu Follow Followed Like Threads More Action Sign in now Screen Awards Christmas Advent Calendar Exclusives Best on Streaming SR Database Network TV Schedule Close By Steven Dicarlo & Tom Russell Updated Dec 9, 2024 Sign in to your ScreenRant account Add Us On follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

This article continues mentions of sexual assault, drug use, and violence.

At the start of Showtime's popular comedy-drama Shameless, Debbie Gallagher was an incredibly sweet and intelligent young girl who seemed nothing like her derelict and morally corrupt father, Frank. However, over time, Debbie from Shameless changed. Even as a child, Debbie did everything she could to help support her siblings as they attempted to survive life on the South Side of Chicago, without any emotional or financial assistance from their neglectful parents. The one bizarre trait that Debbie had is that she admittedly wanted to have a baby very early on in life, and sought out specifically to do that.

As the series continued, the Gallagher children, including Debbie Gallagher, inadvertently became more like the parents they swore to never emulate. The once-innocent Debbie from Shameless was sadly no exception. Debbie adopted Frank's manipulative nature and questionable moral code, using others to get what she wanted. The final season did little to redeem Debbie, and she quickly became one of the show's worst characters. Debbie may have lost her status as an audience favorite, but she still has a significant number of viewers willing to ignore the glaring issues with her character.

Seasons	Rotten Tomatoes Score
1	71%
2	100%
3	92%
4	100%
5	92%
6	100%
7	88%
8	100%
9	73%
10	20%
11	70%

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Lies About Patrick Molesting Her

Season 3, Episode 8, "Where There's A Will"

Patrick Gallagher only appeared in two episodes of Shameless, but that's all it took to make him one of the most unlikable members of the wider Gallagher family. However, his first appearance in the season 3 episode "Where There's A Will" also ended up facilitating one of the worst moments for Debbie Gallagher — when she falsely accuses him of sexual assault. While Patrick definitely forced the Gallagher family into a desperate situation, there's no excuse for Debbie using blackmail and making up a false story of sexual assault to try and get them out of it.

The accusation came after Patrick swindled ownership of the Gallagher home out from under Fiona's nose. He then tries to blackmail the family into leaving the home, made all the easier when Carl attempts to poison him. Debbie ultimately saves the day by lying and saying that Patrick had tried to molest her. Given that she was only 11 at the time, this would have had serious repercussions for Patrick.

While her actions did save the day in the kind of twisted way Shameless is known for, Debbie's actions are still inexcusable. Patrick may have been many things, but he wasn't a child molester. It's not the worst thing she did throughout Shameless, and it was admittedly still much less self-serving than some of her other terrible moments, but this doesn't make it right. Debbie always had a loose relationship with the truth, and this lie about Patrick foreshadowed what she'd become capable of by the time Shameless concluded.

Takes Part In Abducting An Elderly Woman

Season 1, Episode 3, "Aunt Ginger"

Debbie wasn't always alone when committing some of the terrible things she did in Shameless. Given the morally ambiguous nature of the Gallagher family overall, Debbie took part in several incredibly questionable activities that were a group endeavor. One of the worst of these came in the very first season of Shameless, when a young Debbie jumped at the chance to join Frank and Fiona in abducting an elderly woman from a residential home.

Fiona and Veronica "borrow" an elderly woman with dementia from the facility Veronica works at to pose as Aunt Ginger, the legal owner of the Gallagher home, so the family don't lose the house. Debbie may not have initiated the plan, but she works hard to make the lie as believable as possible, and seems to relish the dishonesty. Still, there is a bittersweet upside to Debbie's involvement too, as she does take genuinely good care of the Gallagher's abductee, spending a lot of time with her and becoming quite upset when she inevitably had to leave.

Ruins Carl's Relationship With Kelly

Season 9, Episode 12, "You'll Know Bottom When You Hit It"

Many of the worst things Debbie Gallagher did in Shameless stem from her turbulent love-life. While her interactions with Kelly are far from the worst things Debbie did in this arena, they're still pretty inexcusable. Not only did Debbie ruin her brother's relationship for the sake of an unrequited crush, but she also kissed Kelly while Kelly was asleep, which is technically assault.

Kelly and Debbie formed a friendship during Shameless season 9, while Kelly was dating Carl. Unfortunately, Debbie began to develop a crush on Kelly. Rather than simply waiting for the feelings to pass out of respect for both her brother and the fact that Kelly clearly wasn't interested, Debbie instead decides to make an advance on Kelly. The fact that she chooses to do this when Kelly is asleep is bad enough, but the overall disloyalty to her own family Debbie shows here makes it an even worse lowpoint for her character.

Steals Lips Social Security Number

Season 10, Episode 1, "We Few, We Lucky Few, We Band Of Gallaghers!"

After Fiona left Shameless, Debbie found herself as the de-facto matriarch of the Gallagher household in Shameless season 10. She soon proved that she wasn't anywhere near as up to the task as her older sister, and while she made several honest mistakes with the finances of the home, this period also bore some of the worst things Debbie did when it came to respecting her own family. At first, it did seem like Debbie had a handle on the finances, ensuring that her brothers and Dad spent responsibly by giving them each an allowance.

Of course, the illusion was quickly shattered when it emerged that Debbie had been spending a lot of money on herself for frivolous purposes. That's not why this is one of the worst things Debbie did, though. The reason this particular moment stands out as one of her character's worst sins is that she stole Lip's social security number and risked him getting into significant financial debt — while he had a baby in the hospital, no less — to do it. The only reason this transgression is somewhat overlooked is that, by season 10 of Shameless, Debbie had already done much worse.

Nearly Loses Her Toes

Season 8, Episode 11, "A Gallagher Pedicure"

This Shameless moment in season 8 isn't so much an instance of Debbie being deliberately malicious or manipulative, but instead, is one of the worst things she did simply because it showed how irresponsible she could be. It was also one of the grossest moments throughout Shameless, as it culminated in Frank performing an at-home-amputation of three of Debbie's toes (which had succumbed to necrosis). The moment comes after Debbie injured her foot in a workplace accident in the prior episode. The injury caused several of Debbie's toes to require amputation. Since she cannot pay for surgery, she enlists her family to do it.

While this is relatively innocent in the grand scheme of everything Debbie did in Shameless, it still stands out given how much trouble Frank could have got in if it was discovered he'd performed an unlicensed surgery. What's more, if Debbie had been a little more responsible with money/hadn't made almost everyone she knew that had financial means hate her because of her actions, she may have had more options available to solve the problem.

Stealing Baby Casey

Season 1, Episode 4, "Casey Casden"

Debbie Gallagher grew up watching her older sister Fiona raise a house full of kids. Fiona wasn't necessarily the ideal mother figure, but since she managed to keep a roof over the family's heads and food on their plates, Debbie incorrectly assumed that it was easy to be a teenage mother. Debbie made it clear early on that she wanted to be a mom, and in the Shameless season 1 installment "Casey Casden," she took her first shot at the endeavor by kidnapping a child one day while walking around her neighborhood.

Debbie spotted a toddler at a birthday party, and decided to take him home. Her siblings immediately expressed their disapproval and concocted a plan to see that the child was safely returned home while avoiding the police officers that were searching for the missing boy. Debbie never got over her desire to become a mom by any means necessary as she proved in later seasons. What's worse is that Debbie shows little remorse for taking Casey and is even angered by the prospect that he has to go back to his regular family. It speaks to Debbie Gallagher's single-mindedness in getting what she wants at an early age.

Concealing Steve's True Identity

Season 1, Episode 9, "But at Last Came a Knock"

While trying to see if Fiona's new boyfriend was having a secret relationship with another woman, Debbie from Shameless discovered that "Steve Wilton" was actually Jimmy Lishman, the son of incredibly rich parents who believed he was away at medical school and had no idea he was back in Chicago stealing cars under a different name. Jimmy pleaded with Debbie to keep his secret and even bribed her with extravagant gifts, so she'd keep her mouth shut. When Debbie realizes that Steve bought the house next door to them, she decides to keep his secret.

Debbie knew that it was wrong to hide something so significant from Fiona, but she hid the truth from her sister for weeks because she enjoyed the special treatment and seemed to also have fun tormenting Jimmy. Debbie Gallagher doesn't admit to Fiona that Steve's real name is Jimmy until season 2, and seems to have no problem taking Steve's gifts. The concealment points to two issues with Debbie from Shameless. First, she's willing to break her sister's trust to keep getting material things. Second, she's willing to break her sister's trust to keep peace in the household.

Her Ignorance About HIV

Season 11, Episode 9, "Survivors"

As Shameless came to a close with season 11, Debbie struggled to let go of her childhood home and began acting recklessly, leading to several problematic Debbie moments in Shameless. Using Sandy as a babysitter for Franny, Debbie Gallagher went out to bars and clubs, sleeping with strange women while her girlfriend watched her daughter. Debbie from Shameless hooked up with a gay man on one occasion, waking up in an alley the next day with little to no memory of the night before. Sharing her experience with Ian the next day, Debbie dramatically claims she "probably has AIDS."

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Her ignorance on the topic is surprising given her brother's identity as a gay man as well as the recent acceptance of her sexuality as a lesbian. It's certainly one of the more glaring problems with Debbie in Shameless, as she's simultaneously gay but making homophobic comments. The arc that was Debbie's sexuality on Shameless has received its fair share of criticisms and Debbie's insensitive comment ignores the reality of HIV transmission and instead contributes to the unnecessary stigma of positive gay men.

Forcing Frank Off The Wagon

Season 1, Episode 8, "It's Time to Kill the Turtle"

In order to make $3,000 in a medical study, Frank briefly attempted to try sobriety out for a change. He and Debbie from Shameless became closer than ever, as he started spending time with her instead of wasting his day away at the town bar, and the duo bonded over Frank's newfound love for sugar as a primary replacement for alcohol. The Gallagher children grew tired of sober Frank very quickly and couldn't trust that he wouldn't return to being the bad parent they'd come to know. The decision came when he announced his plan to slam holes in the roof of the family house, so it could have skylights.

Even if Frank was being reckless, Debbie and the other Gallagher kids shouldn't have messed with his sobriety

Debbie decided Frank was better off inebriated and decided to force him to start again. Frank's alcoholism is one of the biggest reasons he's a terrible father and an even worse human being. His alcoholism is so extreme he gets dementia by the end of Shameless and dies alone due to COVID. Even if Frank was being reckless, Debbie and the other Gallagher kids shouldn't have messed with his sobriety. What's worse is that earlier in the same episode Lip recounts that Frank was sober on a bet once and how sad he was when he started drinking again. Imagine how differently Shameless would've gone had Frank stayed sober.

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Her Violent Tendencies

Season 3, Episode 2, "The American Dream"

Debbie from Shameless doesn't typically share her siblings' violent tendencies, but when she gets furious she can be every bit as destructive. When Frank insulted and broke a school project in which she recreated Abraham Lincoln's house out of Popsicle sticks, she filled a pillowcase with bars of soap and attacked her father. However, this isn't the last time that Debbie Gallagher chooses to solve problems with violence. After a group of girls bullied her at the local pool in Shameless season 3, episode 5, "The Sins of My Caretakers," Debbie once again took action, bringing sandbags and attempting to drown the girl in retaliation.

she continues to go completely off the rails to solve her problems by fighting a stranger in a parking lot as her infant daughter watches from the side

Debbie's high school experience brings more drama as she sucker punches a girl who insults her in Shameless season 5, episode 5, "Rite of Passage." After dropping out in one of Shameless' most controversial storylines, she continues to go completely off the rails to solve her problems by fighting a stranger in a parking lot as her infant daughter watches from the side. During her custody battle with Derek's family, Debbie even tackles Peppa to serve her with child support paperwork in Shameless season 10, episode 5, "Sparky." Something snaps in Debbie from Shameless after Frank breaks her school project, and she becomes increasingly violent as the show progresses.

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