Ellen Pompeo: 'Grey's Anatomy' cast cuts were 'above my pay grade'

Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo spoke out Thursday against media characterizations she feels cast her as the villain in ABC Studios’ decision not to pick up the options for longtime cast members Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew.

Capshaw, who has played pediatric surgeon Dr. Arizona Robbins for the past 10 seasons, and Drew, who’s portrayed trauma surgeon Dr. April Kepner for nine, will leave the show when Season 14 wraps in May.

“I’m a big girl,” Pompeo tweeted, saying, “Deadline (whose story tied Thursday’s cuts to her new deal) can take shots at me if they want.” But she told the fans, “This is above my pay grade.”

She faulted the entertainment-news site for pitting women against each other, on International Women’s Day, no less.

Capshaw and Drew’s characters represented two traditionally underrepresented groups: Arizona is a lesbian, and April an observant Christian.

Capshaw, whose pioneering character was originally a love interest for the newly-out Callie Torres (played by the since-departed Sara Ramirez), acknowledged what her character became in an Instagram post Thursday.

“For the past 10 years, I have had the rare privilege of not only playing Arizona Robbins but also being madly in love with playing her,” she wrote. “Arizona Robbins is kind, intelligent, funny, insightful, bold, playful, fierce and really good at her job. She was one of the first members of the LGBTQ community to be represented in a series regular role on network television. Her impact on the world is permanent and forever.”

Ellen Pompeo as Meredith on ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ (Photo: Byron Cohen/ABC)

She continued, “I am grateful I have gotten to bring her to life and for the life she has brought me. I am sad to see her go, but I am consoled by the idea that she will continue to live on and on in all of our consciences and imaginations.” She thanked series creator Shonda Rhimes “for the ride on this incredible roller coaster.”

April was introduced in a two-episode guest arc in Season 6 as a surgical resident from another hospital that merged with Seattle Grace (later renamed Grey Sloan Memorial).

But Drew’s contract was extended, and Kepner was fleshed out as a devout Christian who sometimes struggled to reconcile her faith with the scientific nature of her work. She became a series regular the next season, and her character married Jesse Williams’ Dr. Jackson Avery, with whom she had a child and later divorced.

In her own post, Drew said she had only been told she wasn’t returning Tuesday, and hadn’t fully processed the news. “I’m not ready to say my thank-yous and give an all-encompassing statement about my (nine) years here. That will come later.”

CLOSE

Ellen Pompeo has renewed her contract on Shonda Rhimes’ “Grey’s Anatomy” through Seasons 15 and 16, becoming the highest paid dramatic actress on TV at a record $20 million per year.
USA TODAY

The series, which was only overtaken as ABC’s top-rated drama last year by freshman drama The Good Doctor, remains a stable performer with an average of 11.6 million viewers per episode.

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