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Ellen Pompeo says iconic Grey’s Anatomy scene actually ‘horrified’ her

Actor didn’t want her character to beg Patrick Dempsey’s Derek to love her

Sam Moore
Thursday 04 November 2021 16:59 EDT
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'Grey's Anatomy' Renewed as Ellen Pompeo Inks New Deal for Season 18 | THR News

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Ellen Pompeo has admitted that an iconic scene from Grey’s Anatomy left her “horrified”.

On her podcast, Tell me with Ellen Pompeo, the Old School actor went into detail about why she disliked a season two moment between her character, Meredith and Patrick Dempsey’s Derek so much.

She said about the scene in which she begs Derek to love her: “When I read that scene, I was horrified. I was like, ‘I’m gonna beg a man?’”

She also revealed that her 12-year-old daughter asked her why she was pleading for a man’s affection to which the actor said: “Well praise Jesus that she’s asking me this question and that her head is already in the right space.”

Pompeo also said she told her daughter that she “didn’t write” the scene and “didn’t want to do it”.

Despite it being one of the most famous scenes from the show, the actor reiterates her belief that it is “terrible” and that it “humiliated” her character.

Pompeo also recalled crying during the filming of the scene: “I’m bawling because I was like, ‘I can’t believe that I’m on TV begging a man to love me.”

Ellen Pompeo y Patrick Dempsey en Grey's Anatomy
Ellen Pompeo y Patrick Dempsey en Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

She was recently criticised by fans for her treatment of Denzel Washington when he directed an episode of the popular medical drama in 2016.

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