For nearly two decades, Ellen Pompeo has been the face of Grey’s Anatomy, captivating millions as Dr. Meredith Grey. But behind the success and fame, the actress has revealed the painful reality of what she faced early in her career, including being shamed for her naturally thin frame.
Speaking candidly on her Tell Me podcast last year with celebrity doctor Jake Deutsch, Pompeo reflected on the emotional toll of constant scrutiny over her body. She revealed that the criticism was so relentless that she began wearing T-shirts under her scrubs during filming to avoid further comments.
“I experienced so much drama in my early life; I was naturally freakishly skinny,” she shared. “The amount of times I cried because people thought I had an eating disorder… it was awful.”
"They made me wear a shirt"
Pompeo, now 55, said that the pressure to look a certain way extended far beyond online chatter. Even within her own workplace, producers reportedly told her to cover up on camera to avoid criticism.
“The s**t the tabloids would say was crazy,” she recalled. “Even on my show, even playing a doctor, they’d be like, ‘You have to wear a T-shirt under your scrubs because you look painfully thin. Are you eating? Is there a problem?’”
At one point, Pompeo said the production team even arranged a meal service for her because they feared she wasn’t eating enough; a decision she described as both invasive and hurtful.
Ellen Pompeo calls out “skinny-shaming” and media hypocrisy
The actress has long been vocal about her frustration with how the media discusses women’s bodies, particularly when it comes to “skinny-shaming.”
In an interview with PEOPLE, Pompeo said that her weight had been a constant source of unwanted attention. “I used to get a lot of criticism for how thin I was, and I didn’t have a lot of confidence because of it,” she said. “I always thought it was irresponsible of the media to portray me as someone with an eating disorder, because if some girls look up to me and think that’s what you have to do to look like me, it’s horrifying.”
She also reflected on how the landscape has changed, and not necessarily for the better. “This was pre-social media,” she said. “It’s even crazier to think what women have to deal with now.”
Ellen Pompeo’s mission to end body image taboos
Pompeo’s willingness to speak about her experiences (both the cruel remarks and the lingering emotional impact) as helped open up larger conversations about how Hollywood and the media treat women’s bodies. Her goal, she says, is simple: to use her platform to challenge taboos and promote empathy.
By sharing her truth, Pompeo continues to show the same courage and compassion offscreen that made Meredith Grey one of television’s most beloved characters.