Ellen Pompeo Recalls A Lot Of On-Set Drama In The Early Seasons Of Grey’s Anatomy

In 2019, in an interview with E! Ellen Pompeo briefly touched on the drama she and her Grey’s Anatomy co-stars faced during their early years together. “I don’t think it’s any secret that we had quite a lot of drama in the first seven years of the show,” she saidbefore providing a bit of context. “It’s just because we work long hours and the actors are sensitive people and it was a huge shot on goal and there were a lot of emotions and feelings and just a lot of stuff going on and there’s nothing, somebody’s fault.” she explained.

While she didn’t go into detail, Pompeo may have been referring to T. R. Knight, who came out of the closet very publicly after Isaiah Washington used a few gay slurs on the set of Grey. Washington stopped work on “Grace” soon after that. Of course, Pompeo may also have been referring to Katherine Heigl, who famously withdrew her name from consideration for the 2008 Emmy Award due to not receiving “material … to confirm an award nomination” Emmy.” After that, Heigl also did not last long on the series (via Us weekly).

But despite all the controversy, Pompeo eventually managed to work with his former showrunner Shonda Rhimes to create a positive atmosphere on set. “We were able to continue this show… and make it an example for other jobs,” she told E! And maybe that’s why Grace lasted 19 seasons.