Ellen Pompeo seeks to clarify Harvey Weinstein comments after backlash

‘For years before Time’s Up women had to put up with harassment and still do on a regular basis’

Ellen Pompeo has sought to clarify comments she made about Harvey Weinstein, after receiving some criticism for her remarks.

The Grey’s Anatomy star spoke out on Twitter after a 2018 clip in which she discussed the Weinstein scandal resurfaced on social media.

Some viewed her remarks as an instance of victim-blaming, which Pompeo later disputed.

During her 2018 conversation at the Oxford Union, Pompeo was asked about the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements.

She responded in part: “I do think we [women] bear some responsibility. Not all, but it takes two to tango for sure. That’s not to blame the victims, that’s just to say: I did go into a room with Harvey Weinstein. I sat at a table with him I had a probably two-and-half-hour conversation with him. He never said anything inappropriate to me. He never made any sort of physical advance to me. I wasn’t in the room alone with him. I had been sent there by an agent in the middle of the daytime.”

After her comments were criticised on social media, Pompeo shared further remarks on her Twitter account, first writing: ”Hey girls sorry if video clips are upsetting!! It’s out of context & it’s too serious a subject to talk about on a platform like this... people who have been abused or assaulted should seek guidance from a therapist... this is not a healthy place for topics this serious.”

Pompeo later added: ”For those who feel offended or are taking this personally this panel was 2+ years ago and it was way before the whole stories of the women came out I Certainly didn’t know he was a rapist at that point ... that took s*** to a whole different level.”

She later clarified that timeline, writing: ”Okay so I was just told The Times story was out before this but I didn’t read it ... I only was really following the story on the news once the trial began.” The New York Times and The New Yorker both published articles about Weinstein in October 2017 within days of each other.

Weinstein was found guilty in February of a criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. He was sentenced in to 23 years in prison the following month.

On Twitter, Pompeo said she was referring to “harassment... not assault” in the 2018 interview.

“I was speaking about MY experience of being harassed in Hollywood and my outlook on it,” she wrote.

”For years before Time’s Up women had to put up with harassment and still do on a regular basis ...it was just part of the job as it is in a lot or all professions ...we couldn’t complain like we can now. If we complained we would be out and the man would stay.”