Ellen Pompeo praises Katherine Heigl for calling out long working days on Grey's Anatomy
Ellen Pompeo has praised her former Grey's Anatomy co-star Katherine Heigl for calling out their show's long working hours.
The Knocked Up star appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2009 and complained about the 17-hour shooting days, calling them "cruel and mean". She was criticised for her remarks at the time, with many calling her ungrateful, and now, Ellen has come to her defence, insisting her co-star would be considered "a complete hero" if she made the comments today.
"I remember Heigl said something on a talk show about the insane hours we were working and she was 100 per cent right, and had she said that today, she'd be a complete hero," Ellen said to her Grey's co-star Kate Walsh on her Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo podcast.
"But she's ahead of her time, made a statement about our crazy hours and of course, let's slam a woman and call her ungrateful."
The 52-year-old, who has played title character Meredith Grey since the show's inception in 2005, added that Katherine was being "100 per cent honest" and her comments were "absolutely correct".
"She was f**king ballsy for saying it," Ellen praised. "And she was telling the truth. She wasn't lying."
The actress noted that the cast and crew used to put in "crazy hours" that could "make you insane", but that's no longer the case as the shooting schedule has been "cut back tremendously".
