'Grey's Anatomy' Fans Stick by Ellen Pompeo After Controversial Tweet

Kayla Keegan
Updated
Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

From Good Housekeeping

Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo stunned her fans - and Kathie Lee and Hoda viewers alike - when she appeared to go after the Today duo on Twitter.

Ellen's episode of Red Table Talk aired on Monday.

Ellen made an appearance on Jada Pinkett Smith's Red Table Talk Facebook show. While there, she spoke candidly about her three biracial children, the comments she's made about race in the past, and dealing with critics.

I wanna thank @ellenpompeo for blessing the table this week with such a candid conversation. What I love about Ellen is that she’s willing to sit in the fire and burn if need be. She knows conversations about race are risky and aren’t without criticism. She also knows that’s she’s learning along the way HOW to talk about race (like we all are) and will sometimes make mistakes a long the way (like many of us do). BUT... she’s not afraid and is willing to learn, she’s willing to fight, she’s willing to listen, she’s willing to understand, and she’s willing to take responsibility. In my eyes, her commitment and FEARLESSNESS makes her a gangsta’ ally in the mission to unify 🙌🏽✨Her episode is streaming now- link in profile @redtabletalk #RedTableTalk

A post shared by Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapinkettsmith) on Dec 10, 2018 at 9:00am PST

At the very end of the show, Ellen confirmed that she hadn't spoken to her Grey's co-star Patrick Dempsey since he left the show in 2015. She went on to note that he's a "wonderful actor" and that there were no hard feelings.

The media highlighted the small bit about Patrick, which prompted Ellen to speak out.

Like many other media sites, Today chose to focus much of their attention on that tidbit. And when the story popped up on Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda's talk show Twitter account, the Grey's star wasn't pleased:

"Hey here's a suggestion!! Maybe all of you over there lay off the booze and pay attention to the real conversation that took place?" she tweeted with red wine emojis and winky faces.

Generally, her fans appreciated what she had to say about missing the mark.

Meredith Grey fans appeared pretty stunned by the exchange. A few thought Ellen had crossed the line. They said that Kathie Lee and Hoda were "the sweetest" and that folks are curious about her relationship with Patrick because they appeared to be friends. But most on Twitter were impressed by how Ellen responded.

"The interview itself was absolutely amazing & reminds me why you are my biggest role model!!! I love you so much," one fan wrote. " I am really sorry, Ell, but there are also people who listened to what you said," another added.

Here's what Ellen really wants everyone to know:

While her conversation brought up many crucial points, one key topic revolved around the challenges she has faced raising her bi-racial kids:

“How much do you say to them and how much do you not say to them? A couple of weeks ago I had some friends over [to] the house - little girls of color - and the little girl came in and I introduced myself and I said, ‘I’m Stella’s mom,’ and she looked at me and she was, like, almost scared ... "

Ellen also touched on her marriage to Chris Ivery, and said that it's up to her and him – and all parents - to push kids to learn as much as possible.

“As moms and dads, we have the responsibility to expose our children to all different types of people; to just show them the differences in the world,” she said.

Watch the rest of her interview with Jada, Willow, and Adrienne below:

('You Might Also Like',)