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Ellen Pompeo’s work on Grey's Anatomy as the titular character Meredith Grey for over two decades is what made her most famous. Recently, she revealed that she isn't ready to completely retire from the show, despite stepping down from her full-time role following the show's 19th season in 2022.
Ellen told El País in an interview on April 13:
“If I were to walk away completely, everybody gets to make money from my hard work for 20 years and I wouldn’t make any money. To me, it doesn’t make any sense that everybody gets to profit off of my hard work. And emotionally, the show means a lot to people….“
Once the interview went viral, viewers took to Pop Crave’s re-uploaded news on an X post, on April 15, and reacted to the same. Most users supported her decision, while others didn’t.
One paraphrased her statement, writing:
“She said: the show ends with me or it doesn’t end at all. and I respect it.”
Other X users also expressed their support for Pompeo. One of the users stated that the show runners should now stop the show and retire Meredith, while another one commented that Pompeo had reportedly carried the entire show.
“Why didn't Shonda [the producer] just finish the series? Make Meredith retire? I stopped watching after season 6. Killing off George and McSteamy was gut wrenching,” one said, partially agreeing with her.
“As she should because Ellen Pompeo IS grey’s anatomy,” another user agreed.
“I mean the show is quite literally about her character. It would make no sense for the show to continue without her,” another fan supported.
However, others criticised her for the comment, stating that she should retire as she would continue to receive royalties. Another user remarked that she is merely showing up at work at this point.
“Not a very nice attitude. Everyone I know stopped watching this show years ago. Surprised it's still on,” one user wrote.
“She’ll still get royalties, what is she saying,” noted another X user.
“She’s not acting anymore. she’s just showing up for work at this point,” criticised one X user.
Grey's Anatomy’s Ellen Pompeo expressed her feelings about leaving the show
During the same interview with El País, Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey, further stated that she would not permanently leave Grey's Anatomy even though her screen time has decreased. This decision is based on both financial and emotional reasons.
Ellen explained her decision to stay on Grey's Anatomy, which has been shown on television since 2005. Talking about the same, she added:
“That would make no sense, emotionally or financially. The show was streamed more than a billion times in 2024. More than a billion times. The companies that own the show and stream the show make a lot of money from our images and our voices and our faces.”
The 55-year-old then said that leaving Grey's Anatomy would feel like a betrayal of her "20 years of hard work" because she would no longer "make any money." Furthermore, referring to her current limited Hulu drama series Good American Family, she said:
“Well, this is a limited series, so I won’t appear as this character again. I was just looking for something that was very different from Meredith Grey, and this offer presented itself.”
Meanwhile, since its first season, Grey's Anatomy has been at the top of the charts, and it was just renewed for a 22nd season. As per E! News’ report from the same day, with 444 episodes and 21 seasons, it is one of the most popular shows among fans.
Despite her longstanding devotion to the show, Ellen's involvement with Grey's Anatomy has decreased over time. In order to concentrate on her executive producing responsibilities and other projects at the moment, she has made less appearances during the 20th and the 21st season.
