Ellen Pompeo Says She Called Denzel Washington A "Motherf**ker" And Fought With Him On The Set Of "Grey's Anatomy"

Fun fact: Denzel Washington once directed an episode of Grey's Anatomy — specifically, "The Sound of Silence," which aired during the show's 12th season. Watch a TV promo for it below.

Not-so-fun fact: It doesn't sound like Grey's star Ellen Pompeo got along with him all the time on set.

On a recent episode of her Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo podcast, she recounted to Dempsey how a scene in which she improvised lines and gave direction to another actor resulted in an argument between her and Washington.

"I was like, ‘Look at me when you apologize. Look at me,'" she recalled. "And that wasn't in the dialogue. And Denzel went ham on my ass. He was like, ‘I'm the director. Don't you tell him what to do.'"

"I was like, ‘Listen, motherfucker, this is my show. This is my set. Who are you telling?'"

"So, we didn't get through it without a fight, but that's actors for you," she continued while also stating that she had the "utmost respect for him as an actor and director": "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."

Uh, sounds like it! Listen to the entire episode here.