Ellen Pompeo said she was paid less than Patrick Dempsey on Grey’s

Ellen Pompeo, star of the hit medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” recently signed on for two more seasons of the show— but the actress hasn’t always wanted to play the titular character, Meredith Grey.

Speaking to “Empire” star Taraji P. Henson for Variety, Pompeo spoke about how she has thought about quitting the show many times. She also said that in the early seasons of the series, her co-star Patrick Dempsey was being paid nearly twice what she was at the time.

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Pompeo said that when ‘Grey’s’ debuted, Dempsey had more TV experience than she did, which could be part of the reason he was reportedly paid more than her

As Pompeo told Henson, when “Grey’s Anatomy” premiered in 2005, Dempsey had more TV experience under his belt, which she said could explain why his paycheck was reportedly a lot higher than hers.

Prior to starring on “Grey’s,” Dempsey had appeared on TV series like “Fast Times,” “Will & Grace,” and “The Practice.” He’d also appeared in over a dozen miniseries, TV films, and films. Before getting her titular role as Meredith Grey, Pompeo had appeared in multiple films including “Catch Me If You Can” and “Daredevil” and on a few shows like “Friends” and “Law & Order.”

“He was being paid almost double what I was in the beginning. He had a television quote. I had never done TV,” Pompeo said. She said that many of Dempsey’s credits came from starring in TV pilots that never made it to air.

Pompeo said she didn’t realize how big the pay gap really was until the cast was negotiating their contracts a few seasons later. “I didn’t even realize until we were renegotiating season three,” she told Henson. “No one was offering that up.”

INSIDER reached out to ABC but did not immediately receive a response.

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Pompeo said that during the first 10 years of filming ‘Grey’s,’ there were many times when she wanted to quit the show

“The first 10 years we had serious culture issues, very bad behavior, really toxic work environment,” she said, speaking of the show. “But once I started having kids, it became no longer about me. I need to provide for my family.”

This isn’t the first time Pompeo has discussed her ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ paycheck

In 2018, Pompeo negotiated a payout of $575,000 per episode, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

She said that before he left the show to pursue other interests in 2015, Dempsey was used as leverage to prove that the show didn’t need her while he was still on it. She also said she reached out to the actor about joining together to negotiate “but he was never interested.”

“At one point, I asked for $5,000 more than him just on principle, because the show is ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and I’m Meredith Grey. They wouldn’t give it to me,” she told the publication. She said she could’ve walked away but didn’t want to let “a guy drive [her] out of [her] own house.”

Her character is quite important after all — in 2017, the show’s creator Shonda Rhimes told E! that once Pompeo is done with the show, so is she.

“Ellen [Pompeo] and I have a pact that I’m going to do the show as long as she’s going to do the show,” Rhimes told the network. “So the show will exist as long as both of us want to do it. If she wants to stop, we’re stopping.”

Pompeo is set to reprise her role when “Grey’s Anatomy” returns for season 16 next fall.