"I have quite a big mouth"- When Ellen Pompeo explained the bold step of revealing her salary
Ellen Pompeo has now moved on partially from Grey's Anatomy and is currently generating waves with her latest role in Good American Family, Hulu's latest true-crime offering that is based on the story of Natalia Grace. Pompeo has become one of the towering figures in television over the past decades and is also actively participating in other projects.
The actress has been vocal about a lot of things over the years, including her road to empowerment. In a 2018 cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, the actress first opened up about her salary and revealed that she earned a whopping $20 million. She explained this decision to reveal her salary was fueled by her desire to let women know how they should know their worth and ask for it.
She discussed this in a 2018 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where she broke down why she chose to reveal her salary. She had said back then:
"I have quite a big mouth, and I’m honest to a fault, which in print can get you in trouble sometimes. … So, I’m grateful that it was taken in the right way,"
She referred to the response of her interview, which was taken in the way she expected it to. She continued:
"I think there’s a lot of blame, especially right now. People are blaming people and there’s a lot of finger pointing...But there’s less people owning up to their side of things, and I wanted to sort of do a truthful interview and talk about my road to my own empowerment and how I got there, but also my mistakes along the way."
Ellen Pompeo further explained how many women thanked her for taking this step and how she was moved by the response.
"As women, you know, it’s not only about what’s done to us or what’s not given to us, it’s what don’t we ask for"- Ellen Pompeo on women knowing their worth
Ellen Pompeo has been one of the highest-paid actors in the world, primarily because of her portrayal of Meredith Grey in Grey's Anatomy, one of the most enduring works of television ever made.
She has been very vocal about wanting her deserved reward for the role, which has propelled the series to greatness. She discussed this in the 2018 interview with THR, where she revealed how her co-star Patrick Dempsey made far more money than her. So she asked to negotiate their salaries together and threatened to walk away.
Of course, the show wouldn't have worked without her and she asked for more than Dempsey, even if it was by a small margin. Ellen Pompeo later expressed how women needed to ask for what they deserved. She said to Jimmy Kimmel:
"As women, you know, it’s not only about what’s done to us or what’s not given to us, it’s what don’t we ask for,...How much of it is isn’t given to us or is it that we don’t ask? And I think that as much as we can point the finger at other people, and say ‘You don’t give us …’ or ‘You don’t treat us fairly,’ we also have to point the finger at ourselves and say, ‘Did we ask? Did we step up and have the gumption to ask for what a man would?’ We have to own our part of it, and sometimes we’re too shy. We’re too afraid to be seen as difficult … to really speak our mind."
And this worked in favor of the actress, who ended up staying in Grey's Anatomy. Her comments were also well-received and, as of now, Pompeo also remains one of the highest-paid actresses in the world.
Ellen Pompeo's latest work, Good American Family, is now streaming on Hulu.
