Ellen Pompeo’s new $20 million salary is not to blame for her co-stars Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew’s departure from Grey’s Anatomy, the actress says. In an interview on the Ellen show, Pompeo addressed rumors that her recent pay raise may have affected the show’s casting decisions, saying, “It’s absolutely not true.†Instead, she suggested that the show’s writers may have played a role. “There’s a few problems that you encounter doing a show for 14 seasons, and one of them is that the writers have a really hard time creatively, you know, thinking up new stories for all these characters — I think we have 16 regular cast members,†Pompeo said. “It’s important for us to not pit women against each other and to dispel the notion that women are always victims,†she went on. “You don’t have to pit us against each other, we’re not enemies, we do lift each other up and support each other, and we’re not victims.†There you have it. Can Dr. Meredith Grey just enjoy the spoils of her upcoming 15th season in peace?
