CELEBRITY

Ellen Pompeo Reveals Why She Divulged Her Salary to the Public on Jimmy Kimmel

(ABC/Randy Holmes)

During an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday February 8, Kimmel asked the actress about her decision to publicly share her salary.

(ABC/Randy Holmes)

Ellen Pompeo replied that she wanted to empower women to speak up for themselves, but to also make sure they take responsibility for when they didn’t speak up.

(ABC/Randy Holmes)

The Grey’s star went on to say, “As women, you know, it’s not only about what’s done to us or what’s not given to us. It’s what we don’t ask for. You know, how much of it isn’t given to us, or is it that we don’t ask? I think that as much as we can point the finger at other people and say, ‘You don’t give us or you don’t treat us fairly,’ We also have to point the finger at ourselves and say, ‘Did we ask? Did we step up and have the gumption to ask for what a man would?’ We have to own part of it. And sometimes we’re too shy; we’re too afraid to be seen as difficult to really speak our mind.”

(ABC/Randy Holmes)

In a past interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Pompeo revealed that she was making less money than her former co-star Patrick Dempsey. She even asked him multiple times to negotiate salaries together. However, he wasn’t interested. The two never even discussed their deals.

Despite this, Pompeo continues to be a changing force in the TV industry. Her current salary exceeds $20 million a year.