Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo gives honest answer when asked about not getting on with people on set

Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo has been spilling the tea about her time on the show, having stepped down as a series regular back in 2023.

The actor – who played the show’s titular protagonist, Meredith Grey – appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast this week, where she discussed everything from the show’s most iconic moments to awkward conversations around salary.

Pompeo wasn’t afraid to hold back on her co-stars either, having admitted she started crying when she had to do a love scene with T.R. Knight, who played George, and how she wasn’t really angry at Patrick Dempsey over their pay discrepancy.

With such a big cast behind the show, host Alex Cooper asked how she handled times when she didn’t get along with people.

Pompeo starred as Meredith Grey (ABC)

Pompeo replied honestly: “Maybe not always the best – I think there’s no real road map to do it one way. I think it depends on the circumstance.

“Not everybody’s going to like you, and you have to be okay with that. I say that to [her eldest daughter] Stella all the time – you don’t like everybody, I don’t like everybody, so not everybody is going to like you, and that’s sometimes hard, but it’s just a fact of life and you have to just swallow that pill that you’re not everybody’s cup of tea.”

She said it was ‘challenging’, continuing: “I think what was hard for me on set for Grey’s is I felt like, because I did have a position of power, that I could advocate for certain people sometimes - and try to fight for people when they maybe didn’t feel like they had enough power.

“And then to have that not be well received, and people to say, ‘I don't need you to do that for me’, I thought, ‘Oh, yikes, so sorry.’

“I’ve learned so much, but what I’ve learned is every situation is different, you know?

She admitted it was ‘challenging’ sometimes on set (YouTube/Call Her Daddy)

“I’ve not always handled everything perfectly, obviously – I've stuck my foot in my mouth more times than I can choose, on the show and off it.”

Pompeo feels that ‘all you can do is learn’, stressing how she feels her intention is ‘always good’.

But she added: “Sometimes as a sort of strong person – and I’m a strong person because I’ve survived a lot and dealt with a lot so I do have a tough exterior – sometimes that is misconstrued as something else.

“Because I am hard on the outside and I curse like a sailor, and I’ll literally start a fist fight in the middle of Rodeo Drive with someone who cuts me off... I will!

“But I’m also super soft and chewy inside, so I’m a complex blend, I think.”