'Grey's Anatomy' Stars Ellen Pompeo and T.R. Knight Take a Knee During Los Angeles Protests

Former Grey's Anatomy co-stars Ellen Pompeo and George T.R. Knight reunited to join the growing [...]

By Allison Schonter

Former Grey's Anatomy co-stars Ellen Pompeo and George T.R. Knight reunited to join the growing protests in response to the police killing of George Floyd. On Wednesday, the former co-stars joined demonstrators in the streets of Los Angeles to protest against police brutality and systemic racism, at one point taking a knee. Knight held a sign reading, "Black Lives Matter."

Prior to leaving the protest, Pompeo took to her Instagram Live in a video that was also uploaded to Twitter to share her experience at the protest. In the clip, the actress compared her experience at the demonstration to other demonstrations she has attended, including the Women's Marches and climate change marches. She noted that the police presence was much heavier Wednesday and authorities were wielding ammunition much different than what she had seen at other demonstrations.

"I've been to other protests, I've never seen police with machine guns, I've never seen the National Guard with machine guns," she said in the clip. "We're at a march for black lives and we're here to talk about the fact that they matter, and there's machine guns and big ones and aggression. The cops weren't so aggressive, but their stance was aggressive. They're on rooftops, they're in cars, they're in tanks, and I haven't ever seen that show of force."

Pompeo and Knight join a growing list of celebrities that have taken to the streets in protest of Floyd's killing. Other celebrities include Jamie Foxx, Tessa Thompson, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Kehlani, Timothée Chalamet, and John Boyega, as well as many others. Initially starting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Floyd was killed, demonstrations quickly spread nationwide before going global. Protests are now occurring in all 50 states, with similar demonstrations taking place in Berlin, London, Paris, and Vancouver, British Columbia as well as in capitals in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

The protests, however, have been met with force. With curfews put in place in many cities, numerous videos and other social media posts have shown protesters being tear-gassed, shot with rubber bullets, and charged at by authorities. President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he was "mobilizing" federal resources, including civilian and military, to "stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson. And to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights."

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