Ellen Pompeo is facing backlash for resurfaced remarks she made in a July 2018 interview about Harvey Weinstein’s victims.
In a one-minute clip that was cut from an hour-long Oxford Union Q&A, the “Grey’s Anatomy” star said, “I think we bear some responsibility, not all, but it takes two to tango for sure.”
She continued, “That’s not to blame the victim, that’s just to say — I did go into a room with Harvey Weinstein, I sat at a table with him, I had a probably two and a half hours with him. He never said anything inappropriate to me, he never made any sort of physical advance to me.”
Pompeo, 50, explained that she had been sent for a midday meeting with the disgraced producer by an agent.
“I wouldn’t have gone into that room at night. But he did nothing inappropriate toward me. Now had he, I would have picked up that glass and smashed him across the side of the face with it.
“So I mean, it’s all what we’re willing to tolerate in our self-esteem, and what are we going to put up with, and what are we going to compromise to be liked, to be loved, to be accepted? How bad do we want to be in show business?”
The original question from the interviewer, which was not included in the clip going around online, was that amid women speaking out during the #MeToo movement, “What do you think needs to happen for this to be a permanent watermark that actually changes the way things are run in Hollywood, certainly internal dynamics forever?”
Pompeo begins her answer by stating that people need to know that kind of behavior will not be tolerated.
“I’m not going to make excuses for those pigs in Hollywood who do disgusting things to women,” she said. “However, I do think it’s generations of men, these men clearly were brought up by older men and they clearly watched other men … These men have learned this behavior and I think women also have to be responsible for the signals we put out, for the messages we put out, and the way we present ourselves.”
Pompeo went on to say that women flirt, and know they are flirting to get what they want, using an example of batting her eyelashes at 5 years old for more candy from a shop owner.
“I think we’re aware of our power, especially women, we’re aware of our power of seduction very early on and we use it and it comes in good (sic) handy, right? … But there has to be a balance in there,” she said before launching into her comments about Weinstein.
Twitter users were outraged by the clip on Thursday.
“What the f..k is wrong with ellen pompeo. This is absolutely disgusting,” one user wrote, with another adding, “I truly do wonder what’s going on inside of ellen pompeo’s brain. Who told her saying s..t like this was okay.”
However, some claimed the clip needed more information. “So you brought a clip where we dont get to hear the question she was answering and we dont get the exact context she meant,” someone pointed out.
Pompeo has played Dr. Meredith Grey on the long-running ABC drama since its inception in 2005. When her contract was renewed in 2018, she became the highest paid actress in a television drama series.