When Porter Magazine invited Ellen Pompeo, Gabrielle Union, Gina Rodriguez, and Julia Roberts’ niece to participate in a round table discussion about inclusion, diversity, and pay parity, they probably didn’t expect to have their own lily white set called out. They must have forgotten that Ellen is not the one, has never been the one, and will never be the one.
Here’s what Ellen had to say about her experience walking onto the Porter set.
ellen pompeo SNAPPED pic.twitter.com/CUjIchreUW
— izabelle (@meredithsgrwy) November 16, 2018
Of course Ellen didn’t say anything that millions of non-white, non-rich, non-famous people haven’t been saying for decades, but coming out of a rich white lady’s mouth made the message notable. But what’s fun about this is the “don’t give a fuck-a-tude” of her delivery. And she can really do that because, see above.
Ellen’s read of Porter got people real excited, proving the rarity of allies who are willing to tell it like it is. Even if they do use “caucasian” instead of white because if we’re using that convention, I’m like what, a negro? A mulatto? No thanks (although I did write-in “negress” on the 2000 census because I found the inclusion of “negro” as an option amusing, yet limiting).
1) White people sometimes ask me how they can be an ally. @EllenPompeo puts on a master class in how to be one.
2) @itsgabrielleu’s facial expressions are a whole ass mood.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 20, 2018
Ally. A person, group, or nation that is associated with another or others for some common cause or purpose.
E.g. Ellen Pompeo https://t.co/3m3FO1ibb6 https://t.co/mncdSd8sVm
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) November 20, 2018
Ellen has used the “world I walk around in everyday” analogy before when she was criticizing the Emmys for being too white a bunch of years ago. In the Porter video, she talks about how she enjoys having these types of conversations and is really comfortable having them. However, she has been criticized for getting snippy and defensive when she was called out for using black emojis.
Two years ago, Ellen Pompeo started an argument with me on Twitter and told me that she experiences racism because her husband and children are black and also because someone called her a white bitch. She also ignored black women who tried to explain to her why she was wrong.
— Auntie Monique (@thejournalista) November 20, 2018
Because Ellen’s comments made such a stir, the rest of the video isn’t being talked about so all the points Gabrielle, Gina, and Julia Roberts’ niece made have gone un-commented upon. I’m kidding, Eric Roberts’ daughter didn’t really have much to say, she sat there looking like she was praying the teacher wouldn’t call on her. Here’s the entire discussion.
Pic: YouTube