Ellen Pompeo was “deeply against” one story line in the current season of Grey’s Anatomy.
According to an interview published in Variety on April 29, Pompeo, who is 55 years old, expressed her lack of control over the choices her character makes. She mentioned that writers often prioritize advancing the plot before considering if the decisions align with the essence of Meredith Grey, the character portrayed by Ellen Pompeo.
Pompeo revealed her discontent with the direction of the storyline involving Dr. Evynn Moore, played by guest star Lena Waithe. In this plot, Moore lies about her wife’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis to meet the criteria for a liver transplant, a decision that did not sit well with Pompeo.
The actress explained that the Meredith Grey she envisioned would have handled the situation differently. Rather than confront Moore for lying, Pompeo felt her character would have been inclined to find a way to manipulate the flawed system to secure the much-needed liver transplant.
“Meredith has subverted the system for 20 years to do the right thing,” Pompeo continued. “She’s done free surgeries, whatever it takes, to actually heal and help people.”
The actress — who has played the titular Meredith Grey since 2005 — was not quiet about her feedback to the show’s higher ups, either.
They “recognize that all of my outspokenness about the creative on the show is all out of a place of caring deeply about the show,” Pompeo said, referencing creator Shonda Rimes, in part.
“I see my job as trying to keep Shonda Rhimes’ legacy as good and solid as we can and the minute you stop caring or phoning it in or getting lazy, we’re not really doing what we’ve been paid to do,” she added.
Pompeo has been contracted to appear on Grey’s Anatomy for a few episodes of season 22. She is an executive producer on the long-running series and her voiceovers are included in each episode. However, if Pompeo decides to step back from the show, she doesn’t see it ending as a result of her hypothetical departure.
“It’s not like if I leave the show completely, they’re going to stop the show,” she said. “The show is still massively successful.”
Pompeo’s statement comes a little over a month after she admitted to thinking that Grey’s Anatomy would end following Sandra Oh’s departure in 2014.
“She was such a loss,” Pompeo said during a March episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. “She’s so immensely talented and I really didn’t think the show could go on without her and I was OK with that. It literally felt like half of the show just leaving.”
