The lead star of ABC’s hit medical drama Ellen Pompeo shared her experience of working with Academy Award winner Denzel Washington while chatting with former co-star Patrick Dempsey on her new podcast Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo.
Back in 2015, Debbie Allen who stars, executive produces, and directs on the show, invited Washington to helm an episode titled The Sound of Silence for season 12. This was done after Dempsey’s exit and to “keep [Pompeo] interested.”
“Debbie Allen was like, ‘What can I do to keep Ellen interested? What can I do to keep Ellen here?’ because after you left, I was like, ‘Oh, why do I have to stay here? I’ve got to go now. Everyone’s gone. Sandra’s [Oh] gone, Patrick’s gone. I’ve got to go too,'” she told Dempsey. “And Debbie was like, ‘No, no, no. You’ve got to stick around. I’m going to bring in a surprise for you,’ and she would never tell me who it was. But she knew I was a huge fan.”
Pompeo made it clear, she has the utmost respect for Washington as an actor, a director, “as everything, but yo, we went at it one day,” she teased.
In the abovementioned episode, Pompeo’s character, Dr. Meredith Grey, encounters an epileptic patient who had accidentally injured her and broken her jaw. The patient later offered his apologies. Pompeo haven’t rehearsed the scene prior, so when it was time to shoot, she was not satisfied with the result. “He apologized to me but he was doing it really softly, he made this choice to speak very softly. And [Meredith] was pissed that [she] had to sit there and listen to this apology, and he wasn’t looking at [her] in the eye,” Pompeo said. “Again, we love actors who make choices, right? And I yelled at him, and I was like, ‘Look at me when you apologize. Look at me.’ And that wasn’t in the dialogue, and Denzel went ham on my a–.”
She continued, “He was like, ‘I’m the director. Don’t you tell him what to do.’ And I was like, ‘Listen, motherf—–, this is my show. This is my set. Who are you telling?’ Like, ‘You barely know where the bathroom is.’
Later that day, Pompeo met Washington’s wife, Pauletta, who was a fan of the show. “I told his wife, I was like, ‘Yeah, he yelled at me today. Yeah, he let me have it today, and I am not OK with him and I’m not looking at him and I’m not talking to him.”
“So it was an amazing experience, it really was,” she concluded the story.
Singer and actress Cassie Ventura, known artistically as Cassie, announced her pregnancy on Wednesday. The announcement was shared via a touching social media post featuring a series of intimate photographs with husband Alex Fine and their two daughters, Frankie, 5, and Sunny, 3.
The “Me & U” singer began dating Fine shortly after her split from Sean “Diddy” Combs. They made their relationship Instagram official in December 2018. The couple announced their first pregnancy, got engaged, married, and welcomed their oldest daughter the following year. Their second child, Sunny, was born in March of 2021.
The most recent pregnancy announcement comes more than a year after the 38-year-old filed and subsequently settled a lawsuit against her ex, Diddy, alleging various forms of abuse during their relationship. Fine has been incredibly supportive of his wife during this time.
The soon-to-be father-of-three also expressed his excitement in a post captioned “Best gift I could ask for.” In his Instagram stories, he revealed that Cassie is six months pregnant.
Preacher and producer DeVon Franklin is engaged to his girlfriend, celebrity trainer, Maria Castillo.
Franklin, who announced his split from Meagan Good in December 2021, proposed to Castillo on a Hawaii holiday vacation.
“Finding Maria has been one of God’s greatest blessings in my life, so I wanted the proposal to be as special as our love,” he told PEOPLE magazine. “We went to Maui for vacation, I told her we were gonna do a photo shoot and during the photo shoot I surprised her with the proposal! It was truly a magical moment and I can’t wait to spend a magical life with Maria!”
The couple reportedly met a year ago when Castillo’s business partner, also Franklin’s friend, introduced them to one another. The two connected over their love for fitness and since that meeting, they’ve been inseparable.
See the gorgeous engagement photos below, courtesy of People magazine.
Viola Davis and Angela Bassett are set to take on roles that are not only groundbreaking but also reflect a vision of leadership that has been historically underrepresented. Both actresses, known for their extraordinary talents and impactful performances, will portray Black women presidents in two upcoming projects: “G20” and “Zero Day.”
Viola Davis in ‘G20’ on Prime
Viola Davis stars as President Danielle Sutton in the action-packed thriller “G20,” produced by Amazon MGM Studios. Set to premiere on Prime Video on April 10, 2025, “G20” unfolds during an international summit in Cape Town, South Africa, which is suddenly besieged by terrorists. Davis’s character, a former war hero elected on a liberal ticket, must use her military acumen and diplomatic skills to protect her family, her nation, and the world leaders in attendance.
Viola Davis in ‘G20.’
This film marks a significant moment as Davis, who has already achieved EGOT status, steps into a role that showcases her as a leader and an action hero. The story emphasizes her character’s resilience and strategic thinking under duress, offering viewers a thrilling yet grounded portrayal of a Black woman navigating the highest office during a crisis. The film’s director, Patricia Riggen, praised Davis for bringing an unprecedented depth to the role, turning her into a “weapon of mass destruction” in her efforts to combat the threats at the summit.
Angela Bassett in ‘Zero Day’on Netflix
Meanwhile, Angela Bassett takes on the role of President Evelyn Mitchell in Netflix’s “Zero Day,” a series that delves into the aftermath of a catastrophic cyberattack on the United States. Scheduled to stream from February 20, 2025, the film explores themes of technology, politics, and power, with Bassett’s character navigating the complexities of leading a nation in crisis. In “Zero Day,” the Commander-In-Chief teams up with a retired president, played by Robert De Niro, to unravel the truth behind an attack that claims thousands of lives.
Robert DeNiro and Angela Basset in ‘Zero Day’. Courtesy of Netflix
Bassett, known for her powerful performances in films like “What’s Love Got to Do with It” and “Black Panther,” brings a nuanced portrayal of the presidency, highlighting the challenges of leadership in a modern, tech-driven world. Her role in “Zero Day” is about commanding authority and the moral and ethical dilemmas that come with such power.