'Grey's Anatomy' Star Ellen Pompeo Blasts TV Doctors for Being 'out of Touch' Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo went on a roll Saturday, taking aim at television doctors like [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo went on a roll Saturday, taking aim at television doctors like Dr. Phil McGraw and Dr. Mehmet Oz after their week of controversial comments on Fox News. Pompeo called the "old white guy TV docs" "out of touch" for making "selfish" and "careless" statements during the coronavirus pandemic. Both Oz and McGraw had to walk back comments they made advocating for the reopening of the country this week.

Pompeo's first tweets on Saturday were directed at the protesters in several states who came out against the stay-at-home policies across the country, instituted to help slow the spread of the virus. "Staying home is for very good reasons," Pompeo wrote. "One of them is to stop the spread to nurses doctors and anyone who works in a hospital housekeeping... security... maintenance... to keep their risk of contracting lower and The hospitals can only handle so much intake."

She then turned her attention towards Oz and McGraw. "Also the old white guy tv docs who say stupid selfish s— should yes ...walk that s— [right] back .to your lazy boys and sit your stupid a— down in your living rooms on your golf courses where you live..tired out of touch old fools don't get me started today," she wrote. In the following post, she called them "out of touch" and accused them of violating their oath to help people by making "careless statements in this environment when so many health care workers are suffering physically and emotionally." Pompeo continued her thread by reminding her fans to think about the health care workers putting their lives on the line every day during the crisis.

Later, Pompeo shared a comment from comedian W. Kamau Bell, who said he will call Oz, McGraw and Dr. Drew Pinsky by their first names until they start "behaving like real doctors" — something Pompeo admitted she liked: "I love this because ...They have been so busy in their dressing rooms getting their faces powdered and worrying about their ratings ...they have no idea what doctors and healthcare professionals on the front lines actually do or they just don't care," she wrote.

Oz and McGraw came under intense scrutiny this week after their comments on different Fox News shows. On Wednesday, Oz said a "2-3 percent" fatality rate would be an acceptable "tradeoff" to get children back to school. Oz later claimed he "misspoke," adding, "As a heart surgeon, I spent my career fighting to save lives in the operating room by minimizing risks. At the same time, I'm being asked constantly 'How will we be able to get people back to our normal lives?'"

Hours after Oz tried to clarify what he meant, McGraw got in trouble for comparing the coronavirus to car crashes, pool drownings and cigarette-related deaths, even though none of those examples are contagious diseases like COVID-19. McGraw took to Facebook on Friday to admit he used bad examples" to make a point. "I refer to them as numbers of deaths that we apparently find acceptable because we do little or nothing about them. I get that they are not contagious, so they are probably not good examples," he said.

As for Pompeo, who plays the fictional Dr. Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy, she has been a strong supporter of health care workers. She has also used her reach as a celebrity to remind people to stay home to slow the spread. "The healthcare professionals, the doctors, the nurses, anyone who works in a hospital, they're at their wits end and now they're starting to die," Pompeo said in an April 2 Instagram video. "We're not doing enough. Everybody, just please stay home. And if you know someone who is not taking this seriously and who isn't staying home, please talk to them. We have to stay home. It's all their asking us to do. It's not that hard."

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