Ellen Pompeo Warns: The End of Grey"s Anatomy is Near!

Grey’s Anatomy recently received some very welcome news:

The long-running ABC drama has been renewed for Season 15.

But Ellen Pompeo is now here with a bit of less welcoming news.

The lead cast member says fans ought to enjoy each renewal as much as they can…

… because there might not be too many more in the show’s future.

“We’re getting there,” Pompeo tells Us Weekly of ending Grey’s Anatomy for good.

Referencing the series creator, Shonda Rhimes, the beloved actress continued:

” Shonda and I will make that decision together.

“I think that one of the biggest lessons that this show has taught me and being on this show for so long has taught me, is that relationships do change. And they do grow. They take work. Like any marriage, friendship. You gotta put in the work.

“You have to accept other people’s flaws, and accept your own flaws and try to change and be a better person. But I think everything is worth the time and effort.

“And things get better.”

There’s a lot to unpack in that sort of rambling response, isn’t there?

Overall, however, it shouldn’t come as a major shock that Grey’s Anatomy won’t be on the air for another decade or anything.

Our best guess is that the series wraps up following Season 16, considering Pompeo recently signed a new, massive two-year contract.

She did so not long before producers announced that veteran stars Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew will not return next season.

Fans reacted in dismay, although cast turnover as been a consistent aspect of Grey’s Anatomy for years now; from the departure of Katherine Heigl to the departures of Sandra Oh and Patrick Dempsey.

“There is an end and it’s nearing,” Pompeo admits here.

A major reason to this inevitable conclusion is that Pompeo needs a break.

She has a family at home with whom she’d love to spend more time.

“I want to be more involved in my kids’ lives as they get older. And they need me more, and this world is such a crazy place,” she said to the aforementioned tabloid.

What might Pompeo do when this amazing ride is over?

“I am really into producing, I love producing,” she said, “It’s like one problem after another, it’s problem-solving 101. It’s like a great experiment in problem-solving.

“Acting is … it’s a young girl’s game. You’ve gotta travel, you’ve gotta be away. [You’ve] gotta go here and work at night in the rain. I’m not saying I’ll never do it.

“If there’s an amazing opportunity I’m sure, of course I’ll do it.”

How will Grey’s Anatomy actually end?

Pompeo hinted in the interview that she does have an idea, but she won’t say.

Instead, she’ll conclude by talking about the recent cast changes and how hard they have been on everyone, cast and crew included.

“We are a family and it’s super awkward. It’s not like films where you work for three months, and you’re not going to see the people, or you’ll see them at the junket and that’s it.

“We really are together, through births, through deaths. Every day, sickness and health…

“[It’s] an odd family, that we’re thrown together with. So, when these things happen, there’s a lot of tumult.

“Inside, there’s chaos and feelings – sadness and anger, and it’s a lot to deal with.”

Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 8/7c.

View Slideshow: 27 Top Grey’s Anatomy Couples: RANKED!

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Ellen Pompeo Says Goodbye to Departing Grey"s Anatomy Stars

Grey’s Anatomy did not come to an end last night.

It was a different Shonda Rhimes-produced series, Scandal, that aired its final episode.

However, the careers of two veteran Grey’s Anatomy actresses did actually come to a conclusion with the latest Season 14 installment, as both Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew wrapped up their impressive runs on the beloved show.

It had been announced in early March that the stars would not return next year.

ABC cited creative reasons as the basis for letting the cast members go.

At the time, Pompeo expressed her surprise and sadness over the development, while also fighting back against talk that her new contract was somehow to blame for the decision.

On Thursday evening, however, after Capshaw and Drew were written out of the show, Pompeo once again took to Twitter in order to pay them tribute.

“Boom… @thank you @jessicacapshaw for bringing it the way you have brought it for 10 amazing years… what a blessing you are and what a contribution you made to television history,” Pompeo wrote about Capshaw.

The actress portrayed Dr. Arizona Robbins for 10 seasons on Grey’s Anatomy.

Concluded Pompeo in this sweet message:

“Lit that screen up with your glow on the LGBT community… making a difference and making it all look so easy… GOAT #representationmatters #loveyou.”

(Arizona was a lesbian, it’s likely worth noting.)

As for Drew, who played Dr. April Kepner for nine seasons, Pompeo thanked her for being “sugar and spice” on the long-running ABC drama.

Along with heart emojis, fire emojis and star emojis, Pompeo penned the following about Drew:

THANK YOU to this lady….@thesarahdrew you served up the sugar and spice for 9 years and it’s been a blast.

Your passion and talent for storytelling has touched so many people provoked thought and Greys is a better show because of it and you. #japrilfansdontplay

Upon learning they were being let go from Grey’s Anatomy, both Capshaw and Drew responded with classy statements.

First, this is how Drew reacted publicly:

Thank you for all of the love. I know you’re sad. I’m sad too. I haven’t really had the time to process this information.

I’ve been with it for less than 48 hours, so I’m not ready to say my thank yous and give an all encompassing statement about my 9 years here. That will come later.

For now, I’d like to say: I love you, and I love April, and her story isn’t over yet.

And the really good news (for me, at least) is that I’m here on set shadowing one of my favorite people, Kevin McKidd, with my beloved Grey’s family all this week and next, so I get to process all of my feelings surrounded by the community that has nourished and nurtured me for almost a decade.

For that, I am grateful.

And then Capshaw:

For the past ten years I have had the rare privilege of not only playing Arizona Robbins but also being madly in love with playing her.

Arizona Robbins is kind, intelligent, funny, insightful, bold, playful, fierce and really good at her job.

She was one of the first members of the LGBTQ community to be represented in a seres regular role on network television. Her impact on the world is permanent and forever. Forever.

I am grateful that I have gotten to bring her to life and for the life that she has brought to me.

I am sad to see her go but I am consoled by the idea that she will continue to live on and on in all of our consciences and our imaginations. Shonda, thank you for the ride on this incredible rollercoaster.

To watch Grey’s Anatomy online and see how Robbins and Kepner left the series, click on the video below.

But do so with a box of tissues handy.

Watch Grey’s Anatomy Season 14 Episode 20 Online

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Ellen Pompeo Lashes Out: How DARE You Blame Me for Grey"s Anatomy Firings!

Ellen Pompeo is not here for anyone’s BS, she would like to make that clear.

Just a few hours after news broke that two of her long-time co-stars on Grey’s Anatomy would not be returning for Season 15, the series lead has broken her silence.

Has she wished the best to Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw, both of whom were let go for creative reasons by ABC?

In private, we have no doubt.

In public, however, Pompeo jumped on Twitter last night to call out a report that blamed her for these actresses getting fired.

How did this claim even come about?

In January, Pompeo signed a two-year deal with Grey’s Anatomy, worth over $ 20 million.

Deadline then ran an article yesterday that strongly implied this impacted the show’s budget in such a way that fellow stars had to be cut, writing:

“The decision not to bring back Capshaw and Drew comes on the heels of the blockbuster new Pompeo pact that gave her a significant salary increase, paying her as much as $ 20 million a year.”

The 48-year old actress was quick to respond to this allegation.

“I’m a big girl @DEADLINE can take shots at me if they want but to the fans please don’t fall into that trap,” she wrote on Twitter, adding of the decision to dismiss Capshaw and Drew:

“This is above my pay grade.”

She also found it ironic, and very irritating, that this report came out on International Women’s Day, also Tweeting in response:

“Its unfortunate that @DEADLINE chooses to try to pit women against each other on #InternationalWomensDay #shameonyounotme.”

Drew played Dr. April Kepner on Grey’s Anatomy for nine seasons; Capshaw came on board a decade ago as Dr. Arizona Robbins.

Both women have released statements (below) of remorse and gratitude in light of their unwanted career moves.

The show’s co-showrunner, Krista Vernoff, also shared a lengthy statement defending Pompeo against the publication.

She Tweeted the following on Thursday evening:

The suggestion … that our cast changes are in any way related to Ellen Pompeo‘s salary renegotiation is wrong and hurtful and misguided.

It smacks of an old, broken, patriarchal notion that women must be pitted against each other and that one woman’s success will be costly to others.

Ellen Pompeo has not only advocated passionately for her fellow cast members, she has taken the time to educate women worldwide as to how to advocate for themselves and that must not now be twisted.

Vernoff had previously said of Drew and Capshaw:

“It has been a joy and a privilege to work with these phenomenally talented actresses.”

As for Drew and Capshaw’s mature responses to their firings, the former wrote this upon learning the news:

Thank you for all of the love. I know you’re sad. I’m sad too. I haven’t really had the time to process this information.

I’ve been with it for less than 48 hours, so I’m not ready to say my thank yous and give an all encompassing statement about my 9 years here. That will come later.

For now, I’d like to say: I love you, and I love April, and her story isn’t over yet. And the really good news (for me, at least) is that I’m here on set shadowing one of my favorite people, Kevin McKidd, with my beloved Grey’s family all this week and next, so I get to process all of my feelings surrounded by the community that has nourished and nurtured me for almost a decade.

For that, I am grateful.

And here is Capshaw’s similarly emotional statement:

For the past ten years I have had the rare privilege of not only playing Arizona Robbins but also being madly in love with playing her.

Arizona Robbins is kind, intelligent, funny, insightful, bold, playful, fierce and really good at her job.

She was one of the first members of the LGBTQ community to be represented in a seres regular role on network television. Her impact on the world is permanent and forever. Forever.

I am grateful that I have gotten to bring her to life and for the life that she has brought to me.

I am sad to see her go but I am consoled by the idea that she will continue to live on and on in all of our consciences and our imaginations. Shonda [Rhimes], thank you for the ride on this incredible rollercoaster.

View Slideshow: 27 Top Grey’s Anatomy Couples: RANKED!

Everyone associated with the show (from fans to crew members) agrees that this news is far from ideal, but it’s silly and ignorant to blame Pompeo for it.

(Also worth noting: ABC has not even renewed Grey’s Anatomy beyond this season.)

Always a thoughtful person, we’ll let actor Jesse Williams have the final word for now:

Sarah and Jessica are easily among my very favorite people and coworkers, so this news fuckin sucks.

Their immense talent speaks for itself but it’s them as people that I’m so grateful to know, privileged to have worked with and learned from.

To say they’ll be missed is a massive understatement. Luckily for all of us, we’ll get to see these artists continue bringing compelling and complex characters to life for many moons to come! #OurWorkIsForever

Williams’ character of Jackson was married to Drew’s April Kepner and the two had a baby named Harriet together.

No details have been revealed about how both characters will be written off the series.

But they’ll be missed. Greatly.

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Ellen Pompeo Basically Tells Patrick Dempsey to Suck It

Ellen Pompeo is having a moment.

Ellen Pompeo has actually been having a whole bunch of moments over a whole bunch of years… and she’s here to remind you about them.

The veteran actress has given a very revealing interview to The Hollywood Reporter in which she delves into a number of issues, from sexism … to her future on Grey’s Anatomy… to her opinion of Patrick Dempsey.

And let’s just tease the final point with this:

Pompeo does not appear to think very highly of her former co-star.

For starters, Pompeo said Dempsey’s decision to leave the series in 2015 was a “defining” moment for her in terms of contract negotiations.

We’ll let her explain why:

“[ABC] could always use him as leverage against me – ‘We don’t need you; we have Patrick’ – which they did for years,” she explains, holding nothing back and adding:

“I don’t know if they also did that to him, because he and I never discussed our deals. There were many times where I reached out about joining together to negotiate, but he was never interested in that.

“At one point, I asked for $ 5,000 more than him just on principle, because the show is Grey’s Anatomy and I’m Meredith Grey.

“They wouldn’t give it to me. And I could have walked away, so why didn’t I? It’s my show; I’m the number one. I’m sure I felt what a lot of these other actresses feel:

“Why should I walk away from a great part because of a guy? You feel conflicted but then you figure, “I’m not going to let a guy drive me out of my own house."”

Pretty interesting, huh?

It doesn’t sound like Dempsey was interesting in joining forces with his long-time colleague.

This is in opposition, let’s say, to back in the day when the entire cast of Friends refused to film unless they also received the same pay raise.

Dempsey’s Derek Shepherd was eventually written off the show… but it wasn’t long until Martin Henderson was added to the cast as a new love interest.

“So, what does it look like when he leaves the show?” Pompeo asks, elaborating as follows:

“First, it looks like a ratings spike, and I had a nice chuckle about that. But the truth is, the ink wasn’t even dry on his exit papers before they rushed in a new guy.

“I was on vacation in Sicily, decompressing – it was a long working relationship and it was a tumultuous end and I needed a moment to just chill with some rosé – and they’re calling me, going, “What do you think of this guy?” “What do you think of this guy?”

“And they’re sending pictures.

“I was like, “Are you people f-cking nuts? Why do you feel that you have to replace this person?”

“I couldn’t believe how fast the studio and the network felt like they had to get a penis in there. We brought in Martin Henderson, but they didn’t love the storyline, so that ended.”

Again: interesting stuff, huh?

Through all of the many cast changes on Grey’s Anatomy, Pomeo remains.

And she isn’t going anywhere any time soon:

The star just signed a new, two-year deal that will pay her approximately $ 20 million per year.

This pretty much guarantees Grey’s Anatomy will stay on the air at least through Season 16.

To conclude her cover story with The Hollywood Reporter, Pompeo turned her attention to the #MeToo movement and the ongoing shift in Hollywood.

She’s proud of everything going on at the moment and she hopes she can play a role in it.

“I don’t believe the only solution is more women in power, because power corrupts,” says Pompeo.

“It’s not necessarily a man or a woman thing. But there should be more of us women in power, and not just on Shonda Rhimes’ sets.

“Look, I only have a 12th-grade education and I wasn’t a great student, but I’ve gotten an education here at Shondaland.

“And now my 8-year-old daughter gets to come here and see fierce females in charge. She loves to sit in the director’s chair with the headphones on yelling “Action” and “Cut.”

“She’s growing up in an environment where she’s completely comfortable with power.

“I don’t know any other environment in Hollywood where I could provide that for her. Now I hope that changes … and soon.”

View Slideshow: 27 Top Grey’s Anatomy Couples: RANKED!

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Ellen Pompeo Slams "Fool" Woody Allen on Twitter!

You know how some celebrities always look the same in photos? Woody Allen’s one of those. He tends to look bewildered.

And bewildered is how many feel every time that they see Woody Allen out and about instead of, you know, rotting in a jail cell. 

Ellen Pompeo is courageously speaking out and slamming Woody Allen. Honestly? “Fool” is, relatively speaking, one of the nicest thing’s Allen’s ever been called.

Ellen Pompeo quoted a HelloGiggles (love that site) tweet that read:

“A journalist went through Woody Allen’s personal journals and found he was obsessed with teenage girls.”

Pompeo quoted that tweet with, well, what we were all thinking:

“I haven’t gone through his personal journals and I knew that… shocked the people that work with this man #ambition is [blind].”

And that was only the beginning of what she had to say.

When someone in a now-deleted tweet apparently tried to suggest that Woody Allen had “made mistakes” in the past (that’s what we infer that they said,” Pompeo replied:

“I don’t call it a mistake… he married his daughter…people see what they want to see or don’t…Kind of hard not to see who this fool is.”

Like we said — “fool” is pretty much the nicest word for Woody Allen, considering the damning accusations that he molested Dylan Farrow as a child. Also he married his daughter, Soon-Yi.

But Ellen Pompeo was just getting started

Ellen Pompeo continued by targeting Woody Allen’s alleged racism, tweeting:

“And while we’re on the subject & I’m fired up has this fool ever put one poc in any of his movies ever?” and “What about Hispanic or Asian actors? Or are asians only for him to molest? You know me when I get started.”

Woody Allen’s casting tends to be about as white as snow on a golf course, but one follower pointed out that Penelope Cruz won an Oscar for her role in one of his films.

Pompeo acknowledged this, but notes that she genuinely doesn’t know about who’s in his films, because:

“I wouldn’t know because I don’t watch that bougie s–t.”

Honestly, it’s always nice to see Ellen Pompeo go off.

One tweeter mentioned to Ellen Pompeo that some people try to “separate the professional from the person.” 

You know, like going to Chick-fil-A despite their politics, or seeing a Johnny Depp film despite the abuse allegations, or seeing a film by Brett Ratner or Roman Polanski or Brian Singer or … well, there are way too many names.

Ellen replied: “You know what I call that?? Ducking predators and chasing trophies…it’s WEAK AF.”

Ellen went on to talk about how, too often, black women’s voices are ignored when they accuse a man of sexual predation. 

She cites the many accusations against Bill Cosby, the first of which were ignored for years and years and years before soem famous white women spoke out.

And, in the mean time, famous actresses who should know better — actresses whom I admire, like Selena Gomez and Blake Lively — continue to work with Woody Allen.

It takes people like Ellen Pompeo using their platforms to keep momentum going.

Woody Allen has not had his Weinstein moment yet. While many people eagerly await the day that Woody Allen is no longer among the living, it’s their hope that he’ll die in prison rather in the comfort of his home. 

He’s 82-years-old and those who want to see him brought to justice and publicly disgraced know that the clock is ticking.

Now is the perfect time to talk about this. Even the Golden Globes, with Oprah’s epic speech and Debra Messing taking a stand for pay equality, had its flaws.

James Franco, accused of having an inappropriate interest in underage teen girls, won for The Disaster Artist last night. And accused wife-beater Gary Oldman won Best Actor.

Society has a long, long way to go.

But even among other controversial and despised figures who still roam free, Woody Allen continues to stick out like a sore thumb.

View Slideshow: 21 Celebrities You Probably Want to Keep Away From Your Children

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Ellen Pompeo to Ivanka Trump: You Actually F-ck Jared Kushner?!?

Ellen Pompeo may play a doctor who saves lives on television…

… but she just played a very different role on Twitter:

The server of total and complete Ivanka Trump shade.

And Jared Kushner, we should add.

On Monday, the President’s son-in-law – who has amassed an unusual amount of White House power for someone with no political or foreign policy experience whatsoever – gave a speech at a technology roundtable.

Despite Kushner having often been in the news since Donald Trump was elected, and despite the many responsibilities he’s been given by this administration, this marked one of the few times the public has heard him talk.

Did he blow everyone away?

Was it obvious from the get-go why President Trump has entrusted Kushner with an array of domestic and international tasks and duties?

Not to Pompeo.

“Ok ok this… omg @IvankaTrump you have sex with this guy??? I can’t aahhhhhaaaa,” Pompeo Tweeted along with a link to Kushner’s speech.

The veteran Grey’s Anatomy really couldn’t believe it.

She had to jump back online and repeat herself shortly after making her initial comment.

“Wait wait one more time aaahhhhaaaa,” Pompeo added.

Aside from once wondering who needs a penis to get things done, Pompeo isn’t exactly the type of celebrity to make outrageous statements.

She isn’t Sarah Silverman. Or even Katy Perry.

She doesn’t usually make waves on social media or step into the political fray, which is what makes this Tweet both so noteworthy and so hilarious.

It was as if Pompeo truly could not help herself.

She was so taken aback and so turned off by Kushner’s speech that she literally couldn’t comprehend how anyone could have sex with him.

And yet… Ivanka has had sex with Jared Kushner.

At least three times by our count, considering the couple has three children, two sons and a daughter.

The replies on Pompeo’s page were mostly congratulatory after she slammed Kushner, with one following even welcoming the actress to the “blocked by Donald Trump club.”

Alas, the Commander-in-Chief is yet to take this step when it comes to Pompeo.

Another user replied: “ELLEN UR A SAVAGE OMG.”

And another paid homage to the most famous Meredith Grey quote in Grey’s Anatomy quotes history by writing:

“Can someone help me be friends with @EllenPompeo? Choose me. Pick me. Love me!”

Mad props to this person. We’d totally understand why someone would have sex with him or her.

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Ellen Pompeo: My Night Nurse Is Awesome!

Ellen Pompeo returned to Ellen today and opened up about the secret to her radiant look: 

A night nurse to help her through the long nights.

It was confirmed in December that Pompeo welcomed her third child with Chris Ivery.

Ellen has been private over the years about her private life but has now confirmed her new son is called Eli a

The Grey"s Anatomy actress teared up when a picture of her son was shown on screen. 

"[He"s] so cute," Pompeo revealed. "He is the sweetest thing ever. So adorable."

Working long hours on one of the most popular drama series in the world, it"s imperative the star is in a good sleeping pattern. 

"I have the most fantastic baby nurse, Jackie. She helps me," Pompeo admitted. 

"I would be nowhere without her because I work long days and I need help caring for him. And she"s got my back — and his."

Aside from the baby news, Pompeo confirmed that she and her family had recently got their fourth dog. 

It"s clearly the actress loves her expanding family. Have a look at the video below to see just how excited she gets when it comes to talking about them.

 

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Ellen Pompeo Gives Birth to Baby #3!

A new child has checked in to the life of Ellen Pompeo.

According to a rep for the beloved Grey’s Anatomy actress, Pompeo and husband Chris Ivery have welcomed their third kid into the world…

… but that’s all we know about the exciting development at the moment.

The typically private actress has not revealed the name or gender of the baby.

She hasn’t even revealed when said baby was born.

All we know is this, courtesy of the aforementioned rep for Pompeo:

“Everyone’s doing great.”

Pompeo and Ivery are also parents to daughters Sienna May, 2, and Stella Luna, 7. They didn’t announce the latter’s birth until two months after she came into existence.

So this is par for the couple’s child course.

On Wednesday, the couple were spotted in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles on a hike with little Stella and their newborn, whom Ivery carried in a front holder.

What did Stella think of becoming a big sister back when Sienna was born?

“She liked her at first,” Pompeo told Ellen DeGeneres in 2015. “After three months, she was like, ‘Is she leaving?"”

Added the long-time television star:

“I was like, ‘No, no, she’s going to live here.’ And she was like, ‘Oh, okay.’”

As those who watch Grey’s Anatomy online or on TV know very well, Pompeo has portrayed Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy since the show’s premiere.

While many other mainstays in the original cast have since moved on from the series, Pompeo continues to anchor the popular drama, which is now in Season 13.

Yes, Season 13!

And there’s no end in sight, with ratings continuing to be strong on Thursday nights.

We send our best wishes and our congratulations to Pompeo and Ivery in light of this exciting news.

And we send those same best wishes and congratulations to the following stars, all of whom became parents over the past 12 months:

View Slideshow: Celebrities Who Welcomed Babies in 2016

Turns out, 2016 wasn’t so terrible for everyone!

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Ellen Pompeo Denies Eating Disorder, Makes Shocking Confession

In May, ABC wrapped up Grey’s Anatomy Season 12.

This fall, ABC will kick off Grey’s Anatomy Season 13.

That’s an incredibly impressive run and it doesn’t appear as if the Thursday night juggernaut will be slowing down any time soon.

At this point, it’s pretty clear Grey’s Anatomy will stick around for as long as creator Shonda Rhimes wants it to stick around.

And, perhaps, for as long as Ellen Pompeo is still willing to portray Dr. Meredith Grey, practically the one stable main character on a series that has seen its share of big cast changes.

But fans of the program can rest easy:

Based on a new interview with People Magazine, it doesn’t appear as if Pompeo is going anywhere any time soon.

“My decision to stay on Grey’s was based solely on age,” Pompeo admits.

“At 33, I was wise enough to know my clock was already ticking in Hollywood.”

You don’t see an actor or actress make that sort of confession very often, do you?

Pompeo, who acknowledges she got a “super late start” in Hollywood, is shining a light here on the kinds of challenges older actresses often face.

When contract negotiations came up recently she “was definitely aware of how challenging it would be to find other roles in my late 30s and early 40s.”

View Slideshow: 27 Top Grey’s Anatomy Couples: RANKED!

Patrick Dempsey departed Grey’s Anatomy toward the end of Season 11, while other original cast members (such as Katherine Heigl and Sandra Oh) have also left.

But not Pompeo.

“I thought, ‘Why would I leave something that is super successful and pays me great to search the landscape?’

“I decided that I would stay on Grey’s and be grateful and try to ride it out for as long as I could,” she says.

“And I am very happy that I made the decision to stay. It’s only gotten better with time.”

But while Pompeo is happy with this choice, she has been less than thrilled over the years with the way tabloids have covered her body.

“I used to get a lot of criticism for how thin I was, and I didn’t have a lot confidence because of it. But I was naturally thin,” the 46-year-old says.

“I always thought it was irresponsible of the media to portray me as someone with an eating disorder because if some girls look up to me and think that’s what you have to do to look like me, it’s a horrifying concept.

“I listened to the criticism a little too much – and this was pre-social media. It’s even crazier to think what women have to deal with now.”

It really is.

Fortunately, she has a great attitude about her looks.

“For me, personally, I don’t do Botox or anything like that,” the star tells People. “It can’t be what’s on the outside; it’s gotta be what’s on the inside.”

View Slideshow: Grey’s Anatomy Cast: Before They Were Stars

Ellen Pompeo on Grey"s Anatomy: Who Needs Penises?!?

Grey"s Anatomy may have lost one of its most popular (and handsome!) faces last year, but the series has not lost many viewers as a result.

Ratings for Grey"s Anatomy Season 12 are nice and strong, with ABC having recently renewed the drama for the 2016-2017 season.

This may come as a surprise to some folks after the series killed off Patrick Dempsey"s beloved character of Derek Shepherd last in Season 11, but Ellen Pompeo isn"t floored by the show"s ongoing popularity.

"It’s amazing how much you get done without a penis," the actress tells Ellen DeGeneres in the following clip.

Pompeo made similar comments shortly after Dempsey left the series.

She seemed to think it was sexist that critics didn"t think the drama could really go on without Derek, although (in our estimation) it was really more a question of viewers feeling cheated.

They had invested so much time in the Derek and Meredith relationship and then Shonda Rhimes simply killed off one half of that couple, due to a real-life beef with the actor who played him.

Is Pompeo dissing Dempsey with the above quote?

Is she saying he got in the way of progress while he was a series regular?

"We miss him dearly, but yeah, the show is doing very well," she says here with a laugh, prior to addressing rumors of Grey"s possibly ending:

"No, it’s not the last season.

"I think a lot of people were really upset about his departure, which is super understandable, but I think the change is part of the reason why the show goes on so long. I think people tune in to see what is the show look like now? What is Meredith going to do without Derek?

"I think they get so upset about the change, but change is precisely what everyone always needs to sort of get to the next place."

It"s true: people continue to watch Grey"s Anatomy online and on television each week.

It airs on Thursday nights at 8/7c, prior to Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder.

Shonda Rhimes has a hand in all of those programs and, at this point, it seems as if ABC will gladly allow them all to air until she no longer wants them to.

In other words: hold on to your gurneys, Grey"s Anatomy fans.

This show is not going anywhere any time soon.

Check out snippets from Pompeo"s interview with DeGeneres below: