Yahoo Lifestyle Ellen Pompeo Nails 1 Thing Women Could 'Never' Do In Passionate Speech On Double Standards
Ellen Pompeo dissected society’s aesthetic double standards in a candid interview, delivering a sharp diagnosis in just 31 seconds.
“Stop trying to speak perfect, look perfect, act perfect,” the “Grey’s Anatomy” star said, addressing women in a video shared by InStyle on Tuesday. “Who gives a fuck? Men don’t try to be perfect.”
She then shifted her focus to powerful men in particular, naming George Clooney as the “only good-looking powerful guy” in her eyes.
She bluntly added, “All the other powerful guys are like, pigs.”
“I mean, women could never, ever look the way certain people look and get that successful, ever” she continued. After the phrase “the way certain people look,” she coughed and subtly said the name “Weinstein” — presumably a reference to disgraced movie titan Harvey Weinstein.
“It’s OK to be the best version of yourself,” she said, adding, “but men don’t try that hard to be perfect.”
Pompeo is no stranger to championing women, including when it comes to knowing her own worth. In a March 19 episode of the podcast “Call Her Daddy,” the actor opened up about her struggle for equal pay on “Grey’s Anatomy.”
She said that for years, she earned less than co-star Patrick Dempsey, who played Dr. Derek Shepherd, aka “McDreamy,” even though Pompeo had the lead role.
“I’m not saying he didn’t deserve that money,” she said. “Just being that I was the namesake of the show, I deserved the same and that was harder to get. I wasn’t salty about him getting what he got. I was salty that they didn’t value me as much as they valued him and they never will.”
The pay discrepancy was based on Dempsey being a “bigger star” at the time, she said, adding that she consulted with show creator Shonda Rhimes before making her successful request for more money.
The actor also reflected on the power she holds when it comes to helping other women.
“Once you get to a certain level, you can advocate for women on your platform or in your workplace,” she said.
