Ellen Pompeo Says Patrick Dempsey Deserved Higher Pay for 'Grey's Anatomy' Pilot, But Admits She Was 'Salty' About It

justjared.com:

Ellen Pompeo is opening up about her current, massive salary for Grey’s Anatomy and how she felt about making less than co-star Patrick Dempsey when the show first started.

The actress chatted about money during an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast while promoting her new Hulu series Good American Family. (See photos in the gallery of Ellen at the show’s SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations event on March 17 in New York City) Ellen said that it was her to accept that she earned less than Patrick when she signed on for the pilot, but that she understood at the time why he was making more money. Keep reading to find out more… “To be completely fair, the television game was so different then.

He had done 13 pilots before me…” Ellen said on the podcast. “Nothing personal to him, just in general, only a man can have 13 failed TV pilots and their quote keeps going up, right?

But in all fairness, his quote was what it was.” She added, “He was a bigger star than I was at that point. No one knew who I was.