Ellen Pompeo Reportedly Accepted Hush Money to Stay Quiet About Patrick Dempsey’s “Tyrant” Behavior On ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Set

As Season 18 of Grey’s Anatomy is well underway, more details from the set have been revealed by actor Isaiah Washington. The star, who was fired after using a homophobic slur on set, opened up about Patrick Dempsey‘s “total tyrant” behavior, also accusing the production of paying Ellen Pompeo to not talk about any of his actions.

“He was called Pilot Poison. No one wanted him on the show. They wanted Rob Lowe,” Washington said. “He was not a nice guy from day one. But he liked me and once I had a conversation with him, he said, ‘Isaiah, do you know that white men are the masters of the universe?’ And I said, ‘You really believe that?’ And he said ‘Absolutely.'”

But tensions quickly built between Dempsey, who starred as Dr. Derek Shepherd, and Washington, who played Dr. Preston Burke. One day, Dempsey showed up late to the set — instead of apologizing, though, he “assaulted” Washington three times. Tired of dealing with his co-star, Washington recalls dropping the F-slur while referring to himself.

“‘You’re not going to punk me, you’re not going to treat me like a B-word and you’re not going to treat me like an F-word,” Washington said he told Dempsey at the time. “I was speaking to myself as we refer to as a schoolyard taunt and weakness. Talking about myself. But I had already heard the abuse, that he threw Kate Walsh through a window out of anger. That he terrorized T. R. Knight.”

While discussing Dempsey’s attitude, he also mentioned that lead actress Pompeo “took $5 million dollars under the table” while filming Grey’s so that she would “not tell the world how toxic and nasty Patrick Dempsey really was.”

And that’s not the only pay-off that reportedly happened on set of Grey’s Anatomy. Washington said that when he went in to read for McDreamy,  which eventually went to Dempsey, he was given a wad of cash to not audition at all.

“I originally went in to be Derek Shepherd, a brain surgeon,” Washington said. “I was paid $10,000 not to take the audition. Or do any television. I took the money.”

On top of that, Washington said he wasn’t offered the role because he was Black: “I got called back, read with Ellen Pompeo. She made the executive decision [not to hire me] because she had a Black boyfriend, she didn’t feel comfortable,” he added. “Now she said that to me at catering once I was actually on the show as Dr. Burke. I was passed over, it was over.”

Adding to the mix, Washington said he faced some drama when it came to his appearance on the show, too. He wanted to keep his afro and goatee, but as soon as filming began, he was asked to shave it all off. Still, he received mixed messages the whole time.

“I’m getting a haircut and I’m shaving this goatee off because now I can play this strong, powerful and beautiful male who was at the height of my intellect and who was in charge,” Washington said. “So I’m thinking, ‘This is a positive.'” But, no: Washington recalls coming into work the next day to a screaming Shonda Rhimes yelling, “What did you f–king do?”

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