Director and co-star of Grey’s Anatomy, Debbie Allen, jokingly pleaded with Ellen Pompeo, who starred as Meredith Grey, to return to the show full-time. This occurred at Pompeo’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on Tuesday, 29th April, 2025.
Pompeo began working with the Grey’s Anatomy team in 2005 as the protagonist. She gained worldwide recognition for her role as Meredith Grey, for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award. However, she noticeably reduced her appearances onscreen, only appearing in eight episodes of Season 19, four episodes in Season 20, and seven in Season 21. She recently told El Pais that she scaled down from the series, because she wanted to be involved in her three children’s lives.
In a live YouTube video of Pompeo’s Walk of Fame ceremony, Allen (who played Dr. Catherine Fox) praised her work ethic. She described Pompeo as taking her responsibilities very seriously, and always having ideas about her character. She further attributed the positive changes in viewers’ lives to Pompeo’s global superstardom. “Millions of young girls around the world have gone to college and become involved, invested in the medical profession because of you,” she said. After singing Pompeo’s praises, Allen playfully asked her co-star to return to the show full-time. “We let her out to go do that other show,” Allen joked about Pompeo’s turn in the Hulu limited series Good American Family — her first leading role outside Grey’s in 20 years. “Okay, Ms. Thing. Are you okay now? You did that. Now bring your butt back home.”
Ellen Pompeo Says She Would Not Be Leaving ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Despite worry from her co-stars and fans of the Grey’s Anatomy series, Pompeo has ascertained that she would not be ever fully exiting the series. One of her reasons being that she would not be making any money.
In an interview with El Pais, on April 13, 2025, Pompeo relayed that she had been working with the Grey’s Anatomy team for 20 years. For years, she was being paid less than her co-star, Patrick Dempsey, and had to fight her way to earning an equal salary. Hence she believes leaving Grey’s Anatomy would mean everybody makes money off her efforts.
“The show was streamed more than a billion times in 2024. More than a billion times,” she repeated. “The companies that own the show and stream the show make a lot of money from our images and our voices and our faces. If I were to walk away completely, everybody gets to make money from my hard work for 20 years and I wouldn’t make any money. To me, it doesn’t make any sense that everybody gets to profit off of my hard work.”
All 21 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy are available to stream on Hulu. The TV series has recently been renewed for Season 22.
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Grey’s Anatomy |
|---|---|
| Cast | Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Kevin McKidd, Kim Raver |
| First Air Date | March 27, 2005 |
| Stream On | ABC, Hulu, Netflix (select regions) |
| Created by | Shonda Rhimes |
| Produced by | Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Krista Vernoff |
| Based On | Original concept by Shonda Rhimes |
| Plot Summary | A medical drama following the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they navigate personal and professional challenges at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. |
| Musical Elements | Known for iconic soundtrack moments, featuring songs like “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol. |
| Current Status | Currently airing Season 21 on ABC, renewed for season 22. |
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