'Grey's Anatomy' Star Ellen Pompeo Called Racist Over Hashtag Use
Netizens are calling "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo a racist for her choice of a hashtag. The actress recently posted a photo on social media in light of the events in Charlottesville where groups belonging to different races have been violently protesting.
Pompeo shared a photo of her biracial kids on Instagram to show racial diversity. The image, however, drew a strong response from her followers.
It wasn't the photo per se that netizens reacted to but some did not like the actress' choice of the hashtag #allthebabiesarebrown. They took this to mean that Pompeo excluded white babies despite professing diversity, and therefore, she was being racist herself.
"The future should be white and brown living in harmony or whatever color," an Instagram follower wrote.
"Why can't we just be people, not white people or black people or gay, straight, trans?" another user chimed in.
Netizens also called the actress ignorant but some of Pompeo's fans defended her statement and thanked her for speaking up on real-life issues that matter.
Pompeo was the subject of a backlash before when she posted black emojis on Twitter to commend A&E for its documentary on racism. After wondering why there was more anger for her use of emoji than the subject of racism itself, Pompeo apologized for offending people.
Pompeo's husband is African-American. She and music producer Chris Ivery got married in 2007 and they have three biracial children via surrogacy.
Pompeo, who was in part raised by gay men, shared that her husband grew up in a diverse environment with a white Jewish mother and a black dad. The actress said that her family is open-minded since they deal with plenty of diversity issues.
Meanwhile, the actress is back on the set of "Grey's Anatomy" for season 14. Filming started in Seattle in late July but the cast will also be back in their Los Angeles studio set for the rest of the season.
The long-running series will mark its two-hour premiere on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.
