Ellen Pompeo hits peak White girl boss, chides Denzel Washington: 'Motherf*cker, this is my set'

In 2016, award-winning actor Denzel Washington signed on to direct an episode of Grey's Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo's supposed production baby. In a recent episode of her podcast Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo, the actress-producer revealed she had admonished Washington when he tried to do his job, E! Online reports. Despite reiterating that she had the utmost respect for him, fans online believe her comments were in bad taste. In posts uploaded to Twitter, many wondered why she had chosen to talk about the incident at all. The revelation follows another by Katherine Heigl, who criticized the working conditions on the show's set in a Facebook post.

The incident took place when Pompeo chose to improvise a dialog to another character while filming the episode 'The Sound of Silence.' "I was like, 'Look at me when you apologize. Look at me,'" she recalled yelling at the actor during an emotional scene. "And that wasn't in the dialog. And Denzel went ham on my *ss. He was like, 'I'm the director. Don't you tell him what to do.'" Washington's right to instruct his actors, well within his role as the director of this particular episode, was taken away from him when the actress continued the heated exchange.

She went on, "I was like, ‘Listen, motherf*cker, this is my show. This is my set. Who are you telling?'" To many, the reaction was rather extreme, particularly taking into consideration the racial implications of the exchange. One Twitter user posted, "Ellen Pompeo really disrespected Denzel Washington and proudly told the world like we were gonna be on her side..." Another added, "Marrying someone Black does not give you a pass. Having bi-racial kids does not make you know the experience. You are still YOU. This tweet is for Ellen Pompeo." Evidently, Pompeo was completely off the mark.

During her podcast, nonetheless, she padded the conversation with high praise for Washington. "[I have the] utmost respect for him as an actor and director," she noted. "So, we didn't get through it without a fight, but that's actors for you. Passionate and fiery, and that's where you get the magic, and that's where you get the good stuff. So, it was an amazing experience, it really was. [Washington is] just one of the best to ever do it." The actress also clarified that it was smooth sailing between the two on set from there on out.

The reactions and memes on Twitter have, undoubtedly, been the best part of this revelation. "BREAKING NEWS: Ellen Pompeo has joined Matt Damon and Liam Neeson on the cast of 'White celebs oversharing information that they think makes them look good but does the exact opposite,'" a user on the platform wrote. Another affirmed, "Watching Ellen Pompeo on old reruns of Law and Order will show you she is not near as good as she thinks she is. Just a little reminder that she has never and will never hold a candle to the legend that is Denzel Washington." Ouch.