Ellen Pompeo explains real reason why she’ll never leave ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Ellen Pompeo has recently explained real reason why she will never exit from Grey’s Anatomy.

In a new interview with Spanish publication El País, the actress, who plays Meredith Grey on the long-running hit series, left as a full-time cast member in season 19, which aired in 2022.

However, Ellen did participate in episodes, appearing in voiceover form or in any other way.

Elaborating on why she didn’t completely exit the series, the Old School star confessed it “would make no sense” for her to quit the show “emotionally or financially”.

“The show was streamed more than a billion times in 2024 – more than a billion times,” said the 55-year-old.

Ellen told the outlet, “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 Daredevil actress mentioned, “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.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Ellen, who serves as an executive producer, shared that fans would not be happy if Meredith no longer appeared on their screens.

“To me, it doesn’t make any sense that everybody else gets to profit off of my hard work,” pointed out Art Heist actress.

Ellen continued, “And emotionally, the show means a lot to people. I want to have an attitude of gratitude toward the show.”

Meanwhile, the Law & Order actress opened up about her experience playing Kristine Barnett role in Hulu’s Good American Family.

“Well, this is a limited series, so I won't appear as this character again,” she remarked.

Ellen added, “I was just looking for something that was very different from Meredith Grey, and this offer presented itself.”