Lindsey Shaw explains why she was fired from pretty Little Liars.
The actress, who starred as Paige McCullers in the teen drama, explained during a recent Ned’s Declassified Podcast Survival Guide episode that her drug use and relationship with food at the time led the show’s creative team to part ways with her during its fifth season.
“When I had my drug problem and I was between jobs, you know, I never would have had to talk about my relationship with food because I was always like, ‘Oh, I could always go look for more Adderall.’ You know what I mean? And that’s fine,” Shaw told his colleague. Ned is declassified alumni and co-hosts Devon Werkheiser and Daniel Curtis Lee. “So it was really tough, and I mostly – I was basically let go pretty Little Liars in season five because of the weight I had lost, and that was a really embarrassing thing.”
Shaw later recalled the time she found out she had been fired. “It was so bad. I got called into the pretty Little Liars creator’s office,” Shaw said before becoming visibly emotional. “And she was just like, ‘So, we’re gonna let you go.’ She’s like, ‘It’s not because of your game.’ She’s like, ‘But do you have anyone to talk to?’ And I was like, ‘Uh… No.’ And she said, “Well, find someone, and we have to let you go now.” “”
Shaw starred as Paige, a close friend of the Liars and ex-girlfriend of Emily (Shay Mitchell), from her freshman season until she was fired. During the podcast, she praised the show’s creators for bringing her character back for several episodes in its final season in 2016. “There was a relationship and that character,” she said. “But it was tough.”
Shaw argued that the show let her go “so carefully”, adding, “They did so well to bring me back for Season 7 and just let me say goodbye. I’ll never forget the room of this writer.”
Eric McCandless/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Lindsey Shaw as Paige McCullers in ‘Pretty Little Liars’
After learning she had been fired, Shaw said she returned to film her final episode – which saw her and Mitchell’s characters parting ways at an airport – and the scene quickly became an emotional experience. for both actresses.
“I used this show as a therapy session every time I went. I cried harder than in those six years alone. Everything went into the page,” she said , noting that she and Mitchell were both crying so hard that a makeup artist had to assist them.
She added, “Finally, when it was done, we just hugged and left things as they were. But my god, I so appreciate this set and this character, Shay and the people who brought me back. . It was a crazy and scary and sad and wonderful and tragic ride.”
Shaw discussed aspects of his relationship with drugs and alcohol and his continued journey of sobriety over the years, including in a 2020 episode of the Women at the top podcast. “I was totally broken and the speed at which I kept trying to act like I wasn’t had stopped,” she said at the time. “Even though it was like death, I had no other recourse. I had to leave. For example, I couldn’t leave my house when I was [in L.A.] without being wasted. I felt like there were voices in my head. I would feel like everyone was judging me. The social anxiety was crippling.”
She moved to Arizona for two years in order to prioritize her mental health. “It was profound. It was me reconnecting with my family pulling weeds and cleaning the rice field, just being normal,” she said. “Reading books, going to AA, getting sponsors. All that mundane stuff that – getting closer to my mom again – all that stuff that I had neglected for so long.”
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