US Magazine “Life Out Loud” interview

Ellen Pompeo: "I Was Raised By Drag Queens"
Friday June 15, 2007

Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo’s actions spoke as loud as her words on June 9 at the “Life Out Loud” benefit in Los Angeles. While Pompeo took the high road when addressing costar Isaiah Washington’s firing, just her presence at the event for LifeWorks, which finds mentors for gay and lesbian youth, spoke volumes. She sat down exclusively with Usmagazine.com's Jeffrey Epstein at the event to talk about why she cares about the cause and what she would do if she was the mother of a gay child.

US: How did you get involved with LifeWorks?

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Ellen Pompeo: I got involved through Chip Sullivan who’s a dear friend and fellow Bostonite. He speaks so passionately about the organization. It’s such a wonderful organization. I would love to see it be taken nationwide.

US: Growing up did you have gay people in your life?
EP: Yes, a ton. I was raised by drag queens practically. And when I left Boston at 20 years old, I went to South Beach with all of my gay friends. Always very close with the gay community.

US: Was there anyone when you were younger who touched your life?
EP: I wouldn’t say there was one person who touched my life. There were several people who touched my life. My mother died when I was four years old, so I was effectively raised by a bunch of different people. And a lot of those people were friends of my sister, Kathleen (I have three sisters), who had all these gay friends. She would baby-sit me everyday, and she would take me over to her friend’s houses with all kinds of things going on: tucking, and eyebrow drawing, waxing, all sorts of things. I was literally raised by gay men. And a lot of other people: my grandmother, my aunts and uncles, but I spent a great deal of time with a lot of gay men.

US: Obviously there was a lot of controversy on your set this year, but you’re making a big statement by being here. How did that all unfold for you?
EP: I choose to focus on, now what has happened but what we can do. What can we do to make things like this [referring to Isaiah’s outburst] not happen again? What can we do to be proactive and change the environment and more forward and make it a day when we don’t have these problems. And hopefully organizations like LifeWorks moves us in that direction.

US: How did it affect you to hear the kind of language, that word, that obviously a lot of gay youth hear every single day?
EP: I’m not going to take the martyr position and say, “It hurts me deeply”‚ because I don’t know what it is to bear that burden. I don’t know what it is to be gay. I don’t know that struggle and pain—or, hopefully, that happiness and joy. I don’t know that experience. But what I do see is my friends who are hurt by that language.

US: And when T.R. came out, it was an amazing positive thing. It puts a really good role model out there.
EP: I have to say, when T.R. came out, I did cry. Such tremendous courage. Most people don’t have to come out to the world like that.

US: Is your fiancee Chris Ivery as open minded as you?
EP: Yes, he grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the most liberal places on the planet. And he grew up with a white Jewish mother and a black father, so he has had to deal with a lot of diversity issues as well. So we’re very open minded.

US: Cher is famous for having said how, despite having tons of gay friends and fans, she didn’t take it so well when Chastity came out of the closet. How would you feel if your child was gay?
EP: Just fine. As long as my child was happy and healthy and hopefully could grow up and decorate my houses!

US: Do you want to have kids?
EP: Maybe not kids. Maybe one.

US: Have you and Chris set a date.
EP: We have not.

Source: US