Grey’s Anatomy Star Ellen Pompeo: White People Feel The Need To Be Defensive When I Celebrate Black People

Ellen Pompeo

Grey’s Anatomy Star Ellen Pompeo: White People Feel The Need To Be Defensive When I Celebrate Black People

Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo is speaking out about the criticism she gets from her white counterparts as she stands up for the black community.

Sports journalist Jemele Hill, 44, hosted Ellen Pompeo, 50, on her podcast ‘Unbothered’ where the ladies talked about a series of topics, one being Ellen Pompeo serving as an “ally” for the Black community.  Since May, the actress has dedicated her Instagram page to posting facts, and updates that all coincide with the Black Likes Matter Movement.

In the clip she says,

“I want to be very careful what I say here because I don’t want to say what the Black community needs, because I’m not Black.  And I want to say that, when you call me an ally, I take that with so much humility, and by no means do I sit on any pedestal, and think I know anything, more than anyone else, or that I’m no a constant student of this world, because I am. I do personally get a lot of people that seem very defensive, and I’m not sure, where that comes from or why some White people feel the need to be defensive that I celebrate Black people or Black culture.”

Ellen then uses the analogy of oranges and bananas to address her personal preference,

“If I say that I love oranges, I love oranges. Then you’re gonna get, ‘well what the f*ck about bananas, you don’t like bananas? You didn’t say sh*t about bananas! The f*ck is wrong with bananas Ellen!’ Bananas are great I didn’t say sh*t about bananas, I just said I like oranges. You wanna like bananas, go like bananas, why are you mad cuz I like oranges? It’s just like, the emotion and the rage, at other human beings, I just think that everybody needs to slow down, and if someone is in the street, crying that their hurt, where is your heart? Where is your mind? And why can’t you just see that another human being is in pain.?”

The actor who has been married to a Black man, Chris Ivery, since 2007. They have three children together.

Ellen Pompeo, Chris Ivery

Ellen also stood with the Black community by being vocal about the lack  diversity in Hollywood. Recently, she was spotted at a protest in Los Angeles, in light of the death of George Floyd, and she spoke on the amount of police present.

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