Fans slam Ellen Pompeo for being a 'Karen' after 'Grey's Anatomy' star reveals on-set fight with Denzel Washington

Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo recently came under fire after revealing her on-set fight with Denzel Washington. The latter made his television directorial debut in 2015 with The Sound of Silence episode of Grey's Anatomy season 12.

During a recent episode of the Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo podcast, the actor recalled her time working with director Denzel Washington.

She shared that the duo got into an argument while filming a scene where a man is apologizing to her character for causing injury and physical harm:

"He made this choice to speak very softly. And [Meredith] was pissed that [she] had to sit there and listen to this apology, and he wasn't looking at [her] in the eye.”

Speaking to former co-star Patrick Dempsey, Ellen mentioned that Denzel was disappointed with the actress for improvising the scene:

"We love actors who make choices, right? And I yelled at him, and I was like, 'Look at me when you apologize. Look at me.' And that wasn't in the dialogue, and Denzel went ham on my a**. He was like, 'I'm the director. Don't you tell him what to do.'"

She further recalled yelling at the veteran actor in response, despite respecting him as the director:

“I was like, 'Listen, mother****er, this is my show. This is my set. Who are you telling?' Like, 'You barely know where the bathroom is.' And I have the utmost respect for him as an actor, as a director, as everything, but like, yo, we went at it one day."

Following the revelation, several social media users slammed Ellen Pompeo, with many dubbing her as a ‘Karen’ for her past behavior towards the acclaimed performer.

---

Twitter calls out Ellen Pompeo for “disrespecting” Denzel Washington in the past

Twitter slams Ellen Pompeo for "disrespecting" Denzel Washington in the past (Image via Getty Images)

Ellen Pompeo is an American actress and producer, recognized across the world for her portrayal of Dr. Meredith Grey in the popular ABC series Grey's Anatomy. The show led her to become one of the highest-paid actors in the world.

It also earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award and made her one of the most renowned TV actresses of all time. The TV star recently discussed some of her memories from the long-running drama in her own podcast.

Ellen recalled her experience working with Denzel Washington as guest director of the show and shared that the duo had a heated on-set argument in the past. However, the revelation backfired, as many fans accused the actress of “disrespecting” the Golden Globe Award-winning actor.

Ellen even remembered telling Washington’s wife about the argument when she visited the set of the show:

"I was like, 'Yeah, he yelled at me today. Yeah, he let me have it today, and I'm not okay with him, and I'm not looking at him, and I'm not talking to him.'"

She also mentioned that despite the dispute, it has been an “amazing experience” to work with the Training Day star:

"So we didn't get through it without a fight, but you know, that's actors for you — passionate and fiery — and that's where you get the magic, and that's where you get the good stuff. So it was an amazing experience, it really was."

Netizens immediately took to Twitter to call out the actress for her past actions:

Several users also labeled Ellen as 'Karen', a moniker often used by the online community to describe a white woman who uses her privilege to justify her otherwise wrongful behavior:

As severe criticism continues to pour in online, it remains to be seen if Ellen Pompeo will react to the backlash in the days to come.