Ellen Pompeo Shared Her Mixed Feelings About Originating That “Pick Me, Choose Me, Love Me” Line
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As it turns out, Ellen Pompeo may not have wanted Patrick Dempsey to pick her, choose her, and love her.
On Tuesday, the longtime Grey's Anatomy actor (who left the series after 19 seasons earlier this year) reminisced about many Grey’s stories with fellow show alum Katherine Heigl for a conversation as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series.
Katherine left Grey's Anatomy prior to Ellen in 2010 after six seasons.
One of the many stories they chatted about was Ellen uttering the now highly memed line over 17 years ago.
In Season 2, Episode 5, Ellen’s character, Meredith Grey, confesses her love to Derek Shepherd (played by Patrick) in a monologue that climaxes with the phrase, “Pick me, choose me, love me.”
The line has since found a life of its own online as a popular meme, but it seems that Ellen never really wanted to utter those iconic words.
“Listen, I don’t know if you remember that I fought that speech so hard,” Ellen told Katherine. “That’s another really interesting thing about life — some things that I was so against, and I was like, 'I can’t beg a man on TV! This is so embarrassing.' And then it turns out to be one of the most famous scenes ever.”
While Katherine maintained “it was a beautiful scene,” Ellen stood firm against the scene. “In the scene, I’m crying, but I’m really crying because I have to beg a man on television,” she said.
Regardless of how Ellen feels about the line, it’s certainly taken on a life of its own and transcended the show. So much so that both Ellen and Katherine said their daughters have even uttered it.
“My daughter and her friends, they sit around and they’re like, ‘Oh, she’s a ‘pick me girl,’” Ellen said.
“I’m like, ‘What’s a pick me girl?’ They were like, ‘You know, girls who are like, "Pick me, choose me!"' And I’m like, ‘Hello?! Do you know who invented the ‘pick me girl’?’” she continued.
Well, let this be a lesson that if you see Ellen on the street, it might not be worth reciting those lines to her.
Elsewhere in the interview, the duo discussed the drama around Izzie (Katherine's character) departing from the show, among other memories.
You can check out the full interview between Ellen and Katherine for Variety here.
