Sexism can occur in any industry, even in the world of TV. Actress Ellen Pompeo experienced it in full force when she started on the successful medical TV show Grey’s Anatomy.
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This actress, who plays the main character and gives her name to the show, earned almost half of what her colleague Patrick Dempsey, who played her boyfriend on the screen, was earning during the first two seasons of the show.
She recently opened up about this time in her life to actress Taraji P. Henson, known for her role in Empire, for the American website Variety (see the video above).
‘No one was offering that up’
‘He was being paid almost double what I was being paid in the beginning,’ explained Ellen Pompeo in regard to her male colleague. Production justified this salary difference by the fact that Patrick Dempsey had already made a few appearances on TV, while the leading lady of the medical show was only just starting out on the small screen.
Patrick Dempsey’s experience, however, was far from significant.
‘He’s done 13 pilots, well none of them have gone!’ she continued about the actor who was her colleague for 11 seasons.
It wasn’t until the time to renegotiate contracts arrived before the third season, that the actress discovered the enormous pay gap she had with the actor.
‘No one was offering that up,’ she concluded.
This story is far from unique in the world of TV. Empire actress Taraji P. Henson experienced a very similar situation, just like lots of actresses before her.
