Ellen Pompeo Explains Why There Was So Much Drama Behind the Scenes on Grey’s Anatomy

Ellen Pompeo has always told it like it is. She’s been candid about how she negotiated for her $20-million-a-year paycheck. She recently disclosed how Grey’s Anatomy made her feel “no good” without Patrick Dempsey. Now she’s getting real about all the behind-the-scenes drama from the past 15 years that Grey’s has been on the air.

You know the drama we’re talking about. First, it was the Isaiah Washington of it all, then the Katherine Heigl Emmy Awards debacle, and even the departure of T.R. Knight. We could go on for a while…but you remember. In 2018, Pompeo even said she hadn’t spoken with Dempsey since he left the show.

Pompeo didn’t want to discuss the specific controversies in her new interview with Variety, published on October 28, but she did reveal what she believes to be a major contributing factor. “Nobody should be working 16 hours a day, 10 months a year—nobody,” she said. “And it’s just causing people to be exhausted, pissed, sad, depressed. It’s a really, really unhealthy model. And I hope post-COVID nobody ever goes back to 24 or 22 episodes a season.”

She continued, “It’s why people get sick. It’s why people have breakdowns. It’s why actors fight! You want to get rid of a lot of bad behavior? Let people go home and sleep.”

Thankfully, Pompeo shared, Debbie Allen—who joined the cast in 2011 and became an executive producer on the series in 2012—advocated for a healthier workplace environment after Dempsey left the series, including Fridays off and a 12-hour day maximum. “I was like, ‘I love this woman,’” Pompeo said.

The death of the 22-episode season of television has been underway for some time, with the ever-growing popularity of the miniseries, but Ellen Pompeo’s statements are pretty huge coming from a network star…especially considering Pompeo suggested in the same interview that the upcoming 17th season of Grey’s Anatomy might be the last.

“We don’t know when the show is really ending yet. But the truth is, this year could be it,” Pompeo said. “I’m constantly fighting for the show as a whole to be as good as it can be. As a producer, I feel like I have permission to be able to do that. I mean, this is the last year of my contract right now. I don’t know that this is the last year, but it could very well could be.”

That might be for the best. It’s always good to end on a high note—something Pompeo assures this season will be. “I’m really, really, really excited about this season,” she said. “It’s probably going to be one of our best seasons ever. And I know that sounds nuts to say, but it’s really true.”

Originally Appeared on Glamour