ANATOMY OF A DISASTER!
Greedy Pompeo lashes out after getting the shove
GREEDY Ellen Pompeo’s outrageous salary demands have driven show bigwigs to cut back her air time on Grey’s Anatomy — and now the vengeful egomaniac is trying to lure viewers away from the medical drama to her new series, spies say.
After playing Dr. Meredith Grey for 17 years, Pompeo announced she’s taking a “reduced role” in the coming months, but a source insists the actress is “spinning it to seem like this was her choice. But that’s just to save face. Her ego is out of control and no one wants her around anymore.”
Still, the 52-year-old actress has only herself to blame, say sources.
Ellen convinced herself and network kingpins “she was the show so they gave in to all her crazy salary demands,” the insider explains. “But the more they gave her the more she wanted.”
Currently raking in a mind-boggling $20 million a season, “she still wanted more — so the network decided to go in a new direction,” says the insider.
They’ve hired five new cast members, brought back fan favorite Kate Walsh, who played Dr. Addison Montgomery, and they’re “phasing Ellen out, whether she likes it or not,” tattles the tipster.
Sources say Pompeo went nuclear when she found out.
“Even though she is an executive producer, she was the last to know and did not take it well,” spills the source. “She’s furious with everyone, including all her co-stars.”
As GLOBE previously reported, Ellen’s headlining and producing a new Hulu limited series called Orphan, about a mysterious little girl. Now, the bitter babe’s reportedly doing everything she can to lure Grey’s viewers to her new series, according to insiders.
“She’s bragging all her fans will stop watching Grey’s when she leaves and follow her over to her new show,” says the source. “She genuinely seems to think people have only cared about Grey’s for the past 17 years because of her!
“That’s how massive her ego is.”