Never one to mince words, Ellen Pompeo is opening up about the Grey’s Anatomy plot point she was “deeply against.”
In a new interview with Variety, Pompeo shared that she doesn’t “always have a say in the choices the character makes.”
“Writers will initially service a plot before they might stop to think, ‘Would the Meredith Grey that [Ellen] built — would she make that choice?’ I recently had this happen this past season, where I was deeply against a choice that Meredith was making,” Pompeo told Variety.
The storyline Pompeo was referring to was one in which her character learns that another doctor, portrayed by Lena Waithe, lied about her wife’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis so that she could stay eligible for a life-saving liver transplant, the Variety piece continued.
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“My problem with that storyline was the Meredith Grey that I’ve created would have always been like, ‘I’m pissed that you lied, [but] let’s figure out how to game the system together to get you this f—— liver. F— the system. The system is broken.”
In contrast to how Pompeo believes her character would handle the situation, Meredith chooses to tell on Waithe’s character. However, Pompeo believes this went against Meredith’s past sensibilities of doing “free surgeries, whatever it takes to actually heal and help people.”
Related: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Fans Are ‘Crying’ Over Ellen Pompeo’s Major New Accomplishment
However, Pompeo said it was ultimately Waithe who convinced her the storyline served the show’s greater good, including Meredith’s relationship with Dr. Nick Marsh, who is played by Scott Speedman.
Ultimately, Pompeo believes it’s her deep love of the show that makes her react so passionately about the storylines.
“I see my job as trying to keep Shonda Rhimes’ legacy as good and solid as we can and the minute you stop caring or phoning it in or getting lazy, we’re not really doing what we’ve been paid to do,” said Pompeo.
