Ellen Pompeo Responds to Fan Who Didn't Like 'Grey's Anatomy' Season 17

The actress had a surprising reaction to a viewer who thought the latest season was not the franchise's best.

Ellen Pompeo isn't taking it personally when it comes to Grey's Anatomy fans who didn't like the last season.

The star of ABC's long-running medical drama responded to a viewer who expressed disappointment over season 17 storylines and wrote on Twitter that they thought it was "dumpster trash." Pompeo reacted to the fan's honest opinion, acknowledging their feelings and explaining that it is difficult to maintain peak creativity for nearly two decades.

"All good! Seventeen seasons we can’t please everyone all the time … it’s definitely not easy keeping it going and keeping it great… I get it…thanks for checking it out anyway… and thanks for your feedback it matters …sending you love," Pompeo tweeted Friday. 

Pompeo responded to another fan's tweet, who took her previous response as shade. But the Grey's star insisted that it wasn't, admitting that it's tough for her to keep up with a show from beginning to end herself.

"No honestly no shade at all …the only show I’ve ever stuck with until the end was The Sopranos, she revealed.

The actress then went on to share her personal thoughts on the matter in a series of tweets, explaining that a difference in opinion on a show's season doesn't have to be taken negatively.

"But why is someone saying they didn’t like something bad? It’s literally been on for two decades!!" Pompeo's tweet read in part. "Not to mention people are pretty much allowed to feel however they want after this really f**ked up couple of years we have had."

Season 17 was an eventful one for Grey's, which featured cameos from beloved cast members Patrick Dempsey, T.R. Knight, Chyler Leigh, Eric Dane and Sarah Drew, and incorporated the pandemic (and its devastating aftereffects) into its storylines when Meredith got COVID-19. It also saw the departures of longtime stars Giacomo Gianniotti and Jesse Williams, as well as series regular Greg Germann.

Grey's was officially renewed for season 18 on May 10 with Pompeo and fellow OGs Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. returning.

In December, Wilson teased to ET that she believed Grey's would not be ending with season 17.

"I know from a creative standpoint there have been many 'This is how the season would end' conversations and then they all end up [not happening] because of a myriad of reasons," Wilson said at the time. "Because the network's not ready, the studio's not ready, the fanbase isn't ready, the numbers are too good, all of those things. Collectively, they've decided we're not going to put an end on it. We're just going to wait and see."

"Especially in light of what's happening right now, it's like, do we want the last season to be about COVID? Or do we want us to be able to put some nice ribbons around it with rainbows and balloons and things?" she continued. "I know on the creative end, the conversation comes up, but on our end, on the actor end, we're like, look, whatever it is that you want us to do. Whatever life you see for these characters, as actors, we're ready to bring that to life. So greater powers have those conversations than us."

For more on Grey's Anatomy, watch below.

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