“Grey’s Anatomy” is known for its dramatic moments, but on one occasion, a much juicier conflict was unfolding behind the camera. Meredith Grey herself, Ellen Pompeo, said she once got into a heated argument over an ad-lib with Hollywood heavyweight Denzel Washington, who was guest directing an episode of the show.
On Pompeo’s podcast, “Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo” (via Entertainment Weekly), the “Grey’s Anatomy” star explained how she improvised a line while talking to another cast member. “He made this choice to speak very softly. And [Meredith] was p**sed… and he wasn’t looking at [her] in the eye,” Pompeo said. “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.” According to Pompeo, she didn’t exactly back down from the two-time Oscar winner. “I was like, ‘Listen, motherf***er, this is my show. This is my set. Who are you telling?”
Pompeo says arguments can lead to good television
Despite the blow up between Ellen Pompeo and Denzel Washington, neither one holds a grudge. Later on in Pompeo’s podcast, she said the argument was just part of doing business. “We didn’t get through it without a fight, but that’s actors for you,” said the “Grey’s Anatomy” veteran. “Passionate and fiery and that’s where you get the magic, and that’s where you get the good stuff.” Pompeo went on to say that she has a lot of respect for Washington.
As for Washington, who actually got his start on another long-running medical drama, he had very little to say about the incident. In an interview with Variety he was asked about what happened on set that day and claimed he didn’t remember. Washington did signal, however, that there was no bad blood, even though he has never returned to direct another episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” or any other television show. All he had to say on the matter was “…it’s all good.”
