Ellen Pompeo says white people get ‘defensive’ when she celebrates black culture

Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo has revealed that she has faced criticism from white people for “celebrating black people and black culture”.

The actor, who has played Meredith Grey on the long-running medical drama for 16 seasons, appeared on the Jemele Hill Is Unbothered podcast where she opened up about people getting “defensive” in response to her activism.

“I personally get a lot of people that seem very defensive and I’m not sure where that comes from or why some white people feel the need to be defensive that I celebrate black people or black culture,” Pompeo said.

“If I say that I love oranges… then you’re going to get, ‘Well, what the f*** about bananas, you didn’t say s*** about bananas? What the f*** is wrong with bananas, Ellen?’ Bananas are great, I didn’t say s*** about bananas, I just said I like oranges, why are you mad?”

She continued: “The emotion and the rage at other human beings, I think everyone needs to slow down. If someone is in the street, crying that they’re hurt, where is your heart, where is your mind and why can’t you just see that another human being is in pain?”

Pompeo has previously called out Hollywood for its lack of diversity, in 2018 pointing out the importance of white actors making sure the crews and film sets they work on are inclusive.

Speaking on a panel alongside Gabrielle Union, Gina Rodriguez and Emma Roberts, she said: “This day has been incredible. And there’s a ton of women in the room. But I don’t see enough colour. And I didn’t see enough colour when I walked in the room today.

“And I had a meeting with the director of another endorsement project that I’m doing. I said, ‘When I show up on set I would like to see the crew look like the world that I walk around in every day.’ I think it’s up to all productions to make sure that your crew looks like the world we see.”