Grey’s Anatomy’s Ellen Pompeo Addresses “Brutal” Rumors About Her Weight and Body – E! Online

Ellen Pompeo has been put through the wringer.

The longtime Grey’s Anatomy star reflected on her time in Hollywood, noting the undue attention that has been paid to her body over the years.

“I was so skinny and I hated it and everyone thought I had an eating disorder,” Ellen explained to People in an interview published Feb. 26. “It was a whole situation with how skinny I was, and there was so much negative attention.”

“Girls today can be gorgeous and thin and thank God we’re not allowed to comment on women’s bodies, even though people do,” she continued. “But I just had so much anxiety and lacked self-esteem because people were so critical of my physicality.”

The 55-year-old—who shares Stella, 17, Sienna, 11, and Eli, 8, with husband Chris Ivery—specifically called out tabloids who “would say horrible things” about her weight, which caused her to dread public events.

“I just remember being so anxious on red carpets, and the comments about my weight and my body,” Ellen shared. “I’m so glad, maybe, hopefully things have changed, because it was much, much more brutal 20 years ago.”