Denzel Washington said he doesn't recall going 'ham' on Ellen Pompeo while directing 'Grey's Anatomy'
- Denzel Washington doesn't recall going "ham" on Ellen Pompeo on the set of "Grey's Anatomy."
- When asked about the incident by Variety, he sidestepped the question but added: "It's all good."
Denzel Washington doesn't recall clashing with Ellen Pompeo, as she said on her podcast last year, on the set of "Grey's Anatomy."
As previously reported by Insider, Pompeo was speaking with her former "Grey's Anatomy" costar Patrick Dempsey on her "Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo" podcast about the day she and Washington clashed on set.
"Denzel went ham on my ass," she said last September. "He was like, 'I'm the director. Don't you tell him what to do.'"
During a recent interview with Variety, Washington was asked about the incident. Variety reporter Clayton Davis writes that Washington "sidestepped" the question, "claiming that he doesn't recall that day."
"But it's all good," Washington he added with a "slight grin."
Pompeo previously said she and Washington 'went at it' on the 'Grey's Anatomy' set when he directed a pivotal episode for Meredith Grey
During her podcast, Pompeo went into detail about what she remembers happened on set when Washington directed an episode of "Grey's Anatomy." Washington directed an episode of the long-running TV series back in 2015.
Pompeo, who portrays fictional doctor Meredith Grey on the long-running ABC medical drama, said she had a fight with the "Training Day" star after changing a line of dialogue in the script.
"And I was like, 'Listen motherfucker, this is my show,'" she said. "'This is my set. Who are you telling? You barely know where the bathroom is.'"
Eventually, Pompeo said the two got over their creative differences with the actress even describing herself as a big fan of Washington. Still, she added, "he doesn't know shit about directing TV."
It looks like for now, Washington's directing endeavors will be centered around movies but preferably not ones he's starring in. His latest directorial work, "A Journal for Jordan," starring Michael B. Jordan and Chanté Adams, is out now in theaters.
It centers on the onscreen couple as Jordan's character is deployed to Iraq. While there, he starts a journal for his young son.
"I never enjoyed headlining and directing," Washington told Variety. "I acted in the movies because I needed to in order to get the money to direct them."
He continued: "So now, for me, this feels like the first film I've directed because I'm not in it. That's the way I prefer it."