On the Time She and Denzel Washington Went “At It”
For a 2016 episode of Grey’s Anatomy titled “The Sound of Silence,” Denzel Washington came in to direct. However, Pompeo suggested their time working together wasn’t all smooth.
“Working with Denzel was amazing,” she said on a 2021 episode of her podcast Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo. “He went nuts on me. This is a good Denzel story.”
The issue seemed to stem from Pompeo improvising a line during a scene with a castmate.
“That wasn’t in the dialogue, and Denzel went HAM on my ass,” she continued. “He was like, ‘I’m the director. Don’t you tell him what to do.'”
However, Pompeo didn’t appreciate the Oscar winner’s response.
“I was like, ‘Listen, motherf–ker,'” she added. “‘This is my show. This is my set. Who are you telling? You barely know where the bathroom is.'”
And while Pompeo insisted she has “the utmost respect” for Washington as an actor and director, she admitted they “went at it.”
“We didn’t get through it without a fight,” she noted, “but that’s actors for you: Passionate and fiery and that’s where you get the magic and that’s where you get the good stuff. So, it was an amazing experience. It really was.”
For his part, Washington has implied he doesn’t give the moment much thought.
“No, no,” the Remember the Titans star told Variety in 2022, insisting he doesn’t remember the incident before adding, “But it’s all good.”
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