The 5 Worst 'Shameless' Characters Of All Time

The very principle of Shameless was to have characters who were morally corrupt. Whether it was drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, criminal activity, or infidelity, the show really showed the full spectrum of shameless behavior. In the sea of less than desirable characters, some did manage to clean up their act and make something out of themselves. Carl became a police officer, Lip got sober(ish), and even Kevin and Veronica decided a change of scenery was best for their situation.

However, other characters continued their downward spiral and became almost unbearable to watch. We could go far enough to say that some are downright evil while others are just manipulative, but for this article we will just say these five Shameless characters were simply the worst.

5. Sammi Slott

Kicking off the list, we have Frank's oldest daughter Sammi. That's right, Fiona wasn't the oldest Gallagher child, after all. She was introduced to fans back in season 4 when Frank was seeking a liver and she quickly proved that she not only belonged in the Gallagher family, but that she was perhaps one of the worst ones yet.

At first Sammi seemed to be happy to finally meet her biological father, but she quickly turned out to be controlling, manipulative, and intolerably needy. She ruffled a lot of feathers with the Gallagher family including being a main reason why Carl and her son, Chuckie, went to juvie. She also was responsible for Mickey going to prison.

4. Tami Tamietti

Tami comes into play in season 9 as Lip's final love interest. After he obtains a job as a motorcycle mechanic, Tami begins dating Lip shortly after a random hookup at her sister's wedding. By the end of the season, Tami was pregnant and consistently trying to reject her baby's father.

This rating is tricky because on the surface, there's nothing really wrong with Tami. She comes from a fairly affluent family and makes an honest living as a hairdresser. The problem is that Tami was always forced into every situation she found herself in with Lip. From the start, she never seemed to show interest in him or the Gallagher's as a whole. Not only that, she was never subtle about feeling trapped into a life of being poor with an underachiever and his child.

Point blank... Tami was just a bitch.

3. Terry Milkovich

There aren't always words to describe how terrible a human being is. Sometimes who someone is and what they do leaves a person speechless. To put it short, Terry Milkovich is one of those people.

Terry never failed to show exactly how disgusting he was. Amidst the running tab of violence, white supremacy, homophobia, and encouraging sexual assault, Terry effectively led his family straight into the dumpster. He even arranged for a Russian prostitute to "turn" his son Mickey straight and sexually assaulted his daughter Mandy. Terry was ultimately murdered, to no surprise, in season 11 and it didn't come soon enough.

2. Frank Gallagher

To no surprise, the Gallagher's patriarch lands as one of the worst characters of the show. Between doing just about every terrible thing to himself, Frank never fails to disappoint his children and his South Side community. Frank spends more time out on the streets than inside of the family's home thanks to his struggles with addiction, alcoholism, and criminal activity.

Frank's discretions are endless, including ruining Fiona's wedding, calling CPS on his own kids to punish them, and taking advantage of pretty much every person in the South Side. He never ceases to impress with proving just how shamelessly terrible someone can be.

1. Debbie Gallagher

What can we really say about Debbie Gallagher? What started as a slightly annoying little girl morphed into an overwhelming powerhouse of negative energy. As the seasons went on, Debbie became not only the most annoying character, but she became one of the most destructive. If getting pregnant on purpose to trap a boy she barely knew wasn't enough, Debbie even sexually assaulted an older boy just so she could say she wasn't a virgin anymore. Oh, we can't forget when she beat up a homeless lady and tricked a mentally handicapped man into letting her live at his apartment so she could keep custody of her daughter.

Similar to other characters, Debbie was never able to take accountability for her actions. Whenever anyone tried to call her out on her behavior, it was always met with swift attitude and gaslighting. Near the end of the series, Debbie jumped from relationship to relationship and never seemed to take Franny's existence into consideration. Sounds familiar, eh?

To put it bluntly, Debbie is easily the most like Frank out of all of the Gallagher children... and that really says a lot.

Dishonorable Mention: Lip Gallagher

While Lip tried to redeem himself later on in the series, there was a period of time where he was downright intolerable. Between gaslighting and emotionally abusing his own family, he rips through a series of women who didn't really deserve the treatment they received. Alcohol abuse isn't sunshine and rainbows, we know this. But, in my opinion, Lip proved that more than Frank and Monica did. If victimizing yourself to avoid taking accountability was an Olympic sport, Lip Gallagher would have the gold medal.