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.… https://t.co/dFDFkhd3mz— chris evans (@chris evans) 1632966606.0
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’m directing this ep, we’re gonna have a great time 👍🏽 Ellen Pompeo: https://t.co/u6H8Egbohw— Brooklyn (@Brooklyn) 1632972183.0
Denzel Washington: Ellen can you move slightly to the left.. Ellen Pompeo : DO YOU KNOW WHO TF I AM?! This is MY… https://t.co/AsGcQ4WOyc— raveen marie ☕️✨ (@raveen marie ☕️✨) 1632966623.0
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’t just wildly rude to Denzel Washington on set, she confronted his wife when she came to visit. A… https://t.co/3vcZqM3LXg— Saeed Jones (@Saeed Jones) 1633014185.0
Her story didn't sit well with people online.
@TiffanyDCross I don’t understand how she thought this story would impress people. “I copped an attitude with one o… https://t.co/pIy5bVmrUv— Shawna Vercher (@Shawna Vercher) 1633001657.0
@TiffanyDCross Denzel should have directed her out of that episode. https://t.co/Ogd6WlJLvh— A Royal Citizen of Wakanda (@A Royal Citizen of Wakanda) 1633001389.0
@TiffanyDCross I still can't get over her calling anyone at work Motherf-r but certainly not Denzel Thee Washington— Ava's Gardener 🥀 (Scar) (@Ava's Gardener 🥀 (Scar)) 1633007480.0
@TiffanyDCross Ellen’s comments were arrogant and disrespectful. Her bragging about them is what made it even worse… https://t.co/YeuEQgQnz9— 100pcntnatural (@100pcntnatural) 1633038739.0
@TiffanyDCross Uh, he's surely done more acting than her: had more chances to direct than her: WHOEVER is directing… https://t.co/jSkDfneBs9— MsDennison (@MsDennison) 1633007815.0
@TiffanyDCross What some people are missing (or disMISSING) is the fact that she can get away with saying this to h… https://t.co/TEc2pfXd1N— 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐃. 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 (@𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐃. 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫) 1633091120.0
And Denzel fans were quick to mention Grey's was not his first foray into the world of TV medical dramas.
@TiffanyDCross You already know she wouldn't have. I never like her. And by the way Denzel was the star of a medi… https://t.co/l9v4AdkaUq— Rita Strickland (@Rita Strickland) 1633007398.0
@TiffanyDCross The fact that this is news compared to what others have done that has been kept quiet is just sad. S… https://t.co/MkiI8sPwsY— Silenced (@Silenced) 1633022068.0
#EllenPompeo should learn that some stories you just take to the grave. This is not a good look. Denzel Washington… https://t.co/GDRdXuKPif— Grisel Allende (@Grisel Allende) 1632973735.0
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."