Ellen Pompeo was raked across the coals after bragging about the time she butted heads with Denzel Washington, who made his small-screen directorial debut in a 2015 episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Her recollection of working with the Tony-winning A-lister came up during her podcast, Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo.
Ellen Pompeo recalls an argument she had with Denzel Washington when he was directing an episode of Grey's Anatomy.\n\nShe describes it as him "going nuts on her" because she tried to direct the other actor in the scene and Denzel told her he's the director.\nhttps://ew.com/tv/ellen-pompeo-denzel-washington-went-at-it-on-greys-anatomy-set-when-he-directed-episode/\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/gJGS3x78qm— chris evans (@chris evans) 1632966606
She and her former Grey's co-star and podcast guest, Patrick Dempsey, were discussing the topic of directing when she said of Washington:
"He went nuts on me."
The actress said she improvised a line of dialogue in response to a guest star's acting choice in the season 12 episode, "The Sound of Silence."
Pompeo referred to herself and the guest star as both actors and characters when describing her clash with Washington on set.
"He made this choice to speak very softly," she said of the guest star, whose character was apologizing to Pompeo's character, Meredith, after seriously injuring her. (Pompeo said the scene was based on a real-life incident in which an "epileptic patient goes into a seizure and beat up a nurse.")
"And [Meredith] was pissed that [she] had to sit there and listen to this apology, and he wasn't looking at [her] in the eye."
"Again, we love actors who make choices, right?" she told Dempsey—whose character, Derek Shepherd, was killed off in the show's 11th season.
"And I yelled at him, and I was like, 'Look at me when you apologize. Look at me.' And that wasn't in the dialogue, and Denzel went ham on my ass."
She continued:
"He was like, 'I'm the director. Don't you tell him what to do.' And I was like, 'Listen, motherf'ker, this is my show. This is my set. Who are you telling?'"
"Like, 'You barely know where the bathroom is.' And I have the utmost respect for him as an actor, as a director, as everything, but like, yo, we went at it one day."
Denzel Washington: Hey folks I\u2019m directing this ep, we\u2019re gonna have a great time \n\nEllen Pompeo:pic.twitter.com/u6H8Egbohw— Brooklyn (@Brooklyn) 1632972183
Denzel Washington: Ellen can you move slightly to the left.. \n\nEllen Pompeo : DO YOU KNOW WHO TF I AM?! This is MY SET! THIS IS MY SHOWpic.twitter.com/zduokIDJ6A— raveen marie \u2615\ufe0f\u2728 (@raveen marie \u2615\ufe0f\u2728) 1632966623
SMH. Even if he wasn\u2019t an Oscar award winning actor, director, producer, and all around Hollywood boss\u2026.who disrespects someone who visits their house? What happen to being a good host and having hospitality?You can disagree without being disrespectful!— Tony (@Tony) 1633004959
Pompeo confronted Washington's wife when she came to visit the set and gave her an interesting take on what went down.
"I was like, 'Yeah, he yelled at me today. Yeah, he let me have it today, and I'm not okay with him, and I'm not looking at him, and I'm not talking to him.'"
"So we didn't get through it without a fight, but you know, that's actors for you — passionate and fiery — and that's where you get the magic, and that's where you get the good stuff. So it was an amazing experience, it really was."
Ellen Pompeo wasn\u2019t just wildly rude to Denzel Washington on set, she confronted his wife when she came to visit. And the entire reason Denzel Washington was brought on as a director is that producer Debbie Allen was trying to appease Pompeo. Wow.https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/09/ellen-pompeo-denzel-washington-fight-on-greys-anatomy-this-is-my-show\u00a0\u2026— Saeed Jones (@Saeed Jones) 1633014185
Her story didn't sit well with people online.
I don\u2019t understand how she thought this story would impress people. \u201cI copped an attitude with one of the most beloved men in Hollywood\u201d is not a flex.— Shawna Vercher (@Shawna Vercher) 1633001657
Denzel should have directed her out of that episode.pic.twitter.com/Ogd6WlJLvh— A Royal Citizen of Wakanda (@A Royal Citizen of Wakanda) 1633001389
I still can't get over her calling anyone at work Motherf-r but certainly not Denzel Thee Washington— Ava's Gardener \ud83e\udd40 (Scar) (@Ava's Gardener \ud83e\udd40 (Scar)) 1633007480
Ellen\u2019s comments were arrogant and disrespectful. Her bragging about them is what made it even worse and then to mention that she told his wife like she was checking him was the icing. She really believed that she was privileged— 100pcntnatural (@100pcntnatural) 1633038739
Uh, he's surely done more acting than her: had more chances to direct than her: WHOEVER is directing, is "the director". She has her nerve. Cuss him out and then claim to have respect for him!pic.twitter.com/xX9YOHOYf0— MsDennison (@MsDennison) 1633007815
What some people are missing (or disMISSING) is the fact that she can get away with saying this to him. Reverse it. What would the reaction be if he'd said this to her? She knows the world we live in. If not, she may be married to a black man, but she's not with him.— \ud835\udc0b\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc30\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc1e \ud835\udc03. \ud835\udc04\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc2d \ud835\udc00\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b (@\ud835\udc0b\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc30\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc1e \ud835\udc03. \ud835\udc04\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc2d \ud835\udc00\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b) 1633091120
And Denzel fans were quick to mention Grey's was not his first foray into the world of TV medical dramas.
You already know she wouldn't have. I never like her. And by the way Denzel was the star of a medical drama-St. Elsewhere b4 he became an Oscar winning movie star. The nerve!!!— Rita Strickland (@Rita Strickland) 1633007398
The fact that this is news compared to what others have done that has been kept quiet is just sad. She mad because Denzel raised his voice. St. Elsewhere is what got all these hospital dramas going in the first place.— Silenced (@Silenced) 1633022068
#EllenPompeo should learn that some stories you just take to the grave. This is not a good look. Denzel Washington is revered, and this story makes him look even better!pic.twitter.com/eUfJDJgndO— Grisel Allende (@Grisel Allende) 1632973735
She added the show's executive producer and director Debbie Allen brought Washington on to direct—at a time when Pompeo considered leaving the show—as a tactic to keep the actress "interested" because Allen knew she was a "huge fan."
Pompeo told Dempsey:
"Debbie Allen was like, 'What can I do to keep Ellen interested? What can I do to keep Ellen here?' because after you [Patrick] left, I was like, 'Oh, why do I have to stay here? I've got to go now. Everyone's gone. Sandra's [Oh] gone, Patrick's gone. I've got to go too."
"And Debbie was like, 'No, no, no. You've got to stick around. I'm going to bring in a surprise for you,' and she would never tell me who it was. But she knew I was a huge fan."
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