Ellen Pompeo explains why she will never leave Grey's Anatomy

15 April 2025, 12:49

By Sam Prance

Will Ellen Pompeo leave Grey's Anatomy? Here's what she's said about Meredith's exit and why she's never quit.

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Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo has opened up about staying in the show for 21 seasons and why she will never quit.

It's impossible to imagine Grey's Anatomy without Ellen Pompeo. Ever since the beloved show debuted in 2005, Ellen has played lead character Dr. Meredith Grey. Ellen did step down from appearing in every episode in 2019. However, she's continued to narrate episodes, regularly returns to the show and is still listed as a main cast member.

Now, Ellen has revealed why she's stayed in the show so long even after Meredith left Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Read more: Here's how Meredith Grey leaves Grey's Anatomy in season 19
Read more: Eric Dane explains why he was "let go" grom Grey's Anatomy

Is Ellen Pompeo leaving Grey's Anatomy?

Watch the Grey’s Anatomy season 21 trailer

Talking to El País about why she won't quit Grey's Anatomy, Ellen explained: "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.”

She added: "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."

Ellen ended by saying: "And emotionally, the show means a lot to people. I want to have an attitude of gratitude toward the show.”

Is Ellen Pompeo leaving Grey's Anatomy? Picture: Liliane Lathan/ABC via Getty Images

In 2017, Ellen became the highest paid actress on TV after negotiating a $20 million deal where she made $575,000 per episode of Grey's Anatomy. Speaking to Alex Cooper on Call Her Daddy about the deal, Ellen revealed that she consulted Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes first.

Explaining the conversation, Ellen said: "She doesn’t really have much to do with that stuff, it’s business affairs and whatever but I said to her, ‘I’m going to go in and ask for this much, are you cool with that?’"

She added: "I don’t want to be disrespectful to her, I don’t want to come off crazy and I want to let her know what moves I’m making because I do respect her. I am grateful to her.”