It appears that Zosia Mamet might be opening up about why she decided to step away from her role on *Mad Men*. The *Girls* alum has disclosed the reason behind her abrupt departure from guest-starring on a critically acclaimed TV series for two seasons when she was just 19—a time frame that aligns closely with when she filmed her role as Joyce Ramsay in the AMC drama, sparking fan speculation. For Zosia, who graced *Mad Men* with her presence across several episodes in seasons four and five, which aired from 2010 to 2012, the decision to quit the unnamed show stemmed from a distressing encounter she had with the series' showrunner.
"We were in the midst of a blocking rehearsal when he made his entrance onto the set," the 37-year-old actress recalled in her latest collection of essays, *Does This Make Me Funny?*, as reported by *The Hollywood Reporter*. "The scene was brief and straightforward. My task was to walk into the office, announce that I had photographs of something significant, retrieve them from the manila envelope I was carrying, and lay them on the table."
However, when Zosia executed her part in the scene, she recounted that the showrunner—whose identity she chose not to reveal—took over the director's role and called "cut." "We all exchanged puzzled glances, thinking, 'Did someone mess up?' We all believed the scene was progressing smoothly," she remembered, describing how the showrunner then approached her directly. "He paused for a moment before raising his head, looking at me, and blurted out, 'What the f--k are you doing?'"
After chastising her for the manner in which she extracted the paper from the manila envelope, Zosia said the showrunner made her rehearse the scene "over and over and over again." "He started by just raising his voice, which then escalated into yelling, and finally morphed into outright screaming," she described. "Eventually, he either gave up or got bored. But this ordeal lasted for about half an hour."
Zosia continued, "No one intervened. Everyone just stared at their shoes while he berated me." Once the rehearsal concluded, Zosia said she promptly called her agents and informed them of her resignation. "I was supposed to appear in four more episodes that season, excluding the one I was already in," she noted. "But I told them I didn't care about the consequences, even if the network decided to sue me. I refused to set foot on that set for a single day longer than necessary."
Nevertheless, Zosia doesn't harbor any regrets about the time she did spend on set, emphasizing that she got along splendidly with the rest of the cast and crew. "The show went on to shatter records for awards and ratings," she added. "And it deserved every accolade. It's an extraordinary piece of television, and I feel incredibly honored to have been a part of it."
In response to Zosia's essays, some social media users speculated that she was referring to her experience on *Mad Men*, particularly a scene in episode four of season five where her character hands over a manila envelope to Elizabeth Moss's Peggy Olson. The show—also featuring Jon Hamm, January Jones, and Christina Hendricks—went on to amass an impressive 16 Emmy Awards and five Golden Globes over its seven-season run.
However, in 2017, *Mad Men* showrunner Matthew Weiner faced accusations of fostering a toxic work environment from a former writer on the show. (He has vehemently denied all allegations.) And while Zosia has yet to directly address the speculation regarding whether her essay pertains to her time on *Mad Men*, she did reveal in her piece that she feels a sense of closure over the incident. "I bumped into that showrunner at the Emmys a few years later," she said. "Both of our shows were nominated. He pretended not to recognize me. They swept the awards that night, and part of me resented him for that. But you know, he hasn't really produced anything notable since."
