Anna Faris Says Chuck Lorre’s Memoir Hurt Her, and Reveals She’s Been Sober for a Year and a Half
by Sari Moon · Thought CatalogBy Sari Moon
Updated 38 minutes ago, October 21, 2026
Anna Faris responded to Chuck Lorre’s account of her departure from Mom by connecting the sitcom’s recovery story to her own: “I was on a show about recovery and then I lived it.” In an October 15 Instagram statement, she said she’d been sober for a year and a half.
Her response followed the October 13 release of Sitcom: A Memoir, in which Lorre described initially resisting casting her. He wrote that remembering how he’d handled his working relationship with Charlie Sheen changed his mind: “Someone’s personal life is none of my business. The mom in Mom would be, and should be, Anna Faris.”
Later in the book, Lorre characterized her departure as vindication of those doubts. “As the years went by, it became apparent that my initial reluctance to hire Anna was, in fact, correct,” he wrote. “After six years, she left the show for mysterious reasons that were not mysterious to anyone on the show.”
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Faris actually starred in 7 seasons, from 2013 to 2020, playing Christy Plunkett, a single mother recovering from alcoholism. Allison Janney played her mother, Bonnie, who was also in recovery. The series ended in 2021 after an eighth season without Faris.
“Yikes. Yes, I read a few things. I really didn’t see that coming. Of course it hurts,” Faris wrote. “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.”
When Faris announced her exit in September 2020, she said she was leaving “to pursue new opportunities.” Warner Bros., CBS, and Lorre Productions jointly described her then as “the first and only choice for the role of Christy.”
Before the memoir’s release, Faris had described the end of her time on Mom as a “complicated time.” She’d also spoken about depression, the connection between her drinking and mental health, and stepping back from constant work.
Her October 15 statement offered a personal update without directly answering Lorre’s suggestion about why she left: “Now I’m healthy, I’m working, and I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. If anyone reading this is where I was, I hope that’s useful. It gets better. I’m proof.”
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