Ellen Pompeo sat down with Ellen DeGeneres on Wednesday, where she opened up about her career struggles and highlighted the importance of women receiving equal treatment and equal pay.
Even as one of the most famous, talented, and iconic women on television today, Pompeo has been the target of backlash over her $20 million a year salary, with many wondering if it was the reason for the departure of her two co-stars, Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew. Pompeo quickly denied these rumors: “It’s absolutely not true. I mean, I’m not involved in these kind of decisions. However, there are a few problems that you encounter doing a show for 14 seasons. One of them is I’m not involved in these kind of decisions, writers have a really hard time creatively, thinking up new stories for all these characters. It’s always sad when we lose people, for whatever reason.”
She also took time to address the fact that one woman’s success is not another woman’s failure. “I think it’s really important to encourage each other—and encourage other women—to stand up and be strong and know that we will be okay and we have each other’s backs… rather than trying to pit women against each other,” she said.
This is just another example of the misogyny rampant in Hollywood, as Pompeo points out how no man would be questioned for receiving a high salary, and no one would ever think that it was at the expense of another his co-stars.
Pompeo believes that she’s earned her salary, and she’s right. Grey’s Anatomy would be nothing without the 48-year-old actress and her beloved portrayal of Meredith Grey over the course of the past 13 years, but it also wouldn’t get very far without its other talented female cast members either.
Featured Image / The Hollywood Reporter