Ellen Pompeo Is Asking Her White Colleagues To "Show Up" Amid Golden Globes Controversy

Amid outcry about the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's lack of diversity among members, Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo has penned an open letter asking white Hollywood to enact change.

"Let's show our Black colleagues that we care and are willing to do the work to right the wrongs we have created," Pompeo wrote in a statement posted to her Twitter and Instagram. "Now is not a time to be silent. We have a real action item here let's get it done."

This follows criticism surrounding the Globes' 2021 nominations, which snubbed Black-led shows like Michaela Coel's critically acclaimed drama I May Destroy You and overlooked films with mostly Black casts. Meanwhile, movies like Sia’s Music, which was panned by critics and members of the Autistic communities, were nominated.

A Los Angeles Times story also revealed that the HFPA has no Black journalists among its 87 members and accused the organization of ethical lapses, such as accepting an all-expenses-paid trip to Paris as part of Emily in Paris' Golden Globe campaign. (Representatives for Paramount Network and Netflix declined to comment to the Times). In response, the HFPA said they would "immediately work to implement" a plan to bring in Black members as well as members from other underrepresented backgrounds.

Pompeo joins a number of celebrities who've since spoken out against the HFPA, including Sterling K. Brown, Ava Duvernay, and the #Time'sUp organization. In her letter, Pompeo asks that her white peers all come together to address this "solvable problem," rather than putting the onus on Black creators.

"There is a solution here and I have faith that we can find it," she wrote. "What we can not do... is leave this problem up to the Black community and all our communities of color to fix. This is not their problem, it's ours."