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Ellen Pompeo, one of many front-facing women pushing for equality in Hollywood and across the board, just revealed the one word she was not allowed to say on “Grey’s Anatomy” during Season 1.
"There was a big fight — I may be butchering this story but — there was a big fight because with standards and practices, which I'm sure you deal with on occasion, you can say 'penis,' but you couldn't say 'vagina,' at the time," Pompeo, 51, told Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday during a virtual appearance on the late-night talk show after the Season 17 premiere on which there was a return of one its most-adored characters.
Pompeo, who is among the highest-earning women in Hollywood, pulling in more than $20 million a year, according to The Hollywood Reporter, also revealed that an ever-popular term was actually invented by “Grey’s” creator and longtime showrunner Shonda Rhimes, 50, as a substitute.
“And that’s why … That’s where the term ‘va-jay-jay’ came from. [Shonda Rhimes] made up ‘va-jay-jay’ because standards and practices would not let us say ‘vagina,’ said Pompeo. “And Shonda‘s argument was like, ‘We said ‘penis’ in that episode 97 times. You can say ‘penis’ 97 times but you can’t say ‘vagina?’”
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The actress continued: “They were like, ‘Yep, yep, you can’t say ‘vagina.’” So she came up with ‘va-jay-jay’ and that’s how that problem was solved.”
In one 2005 episode of “Grey’s” titled “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” Pompeo’s character Meredith Grey carries a severed penis on ice in the hospital throughout the entire show.
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Rhimes opened up about where she first heard the term “va-jay-jay” in a 2006 interview with O, The Oprah Magazine.
"The network said we were using the word 'vagina' too much. I kept saying, 'It's a medical show! We can't say "vagina," but we can say "penis" a million times in an episode?'" Rhimes told Winfrey at the time.
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Ellen Pompeo said ‘vagina’ is the one word she wasn’t allowed to say during season 1 of ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ (Richard Cartwright/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
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"In one of our first shows, we used the word 'penis' about 32 times — but when we said 'vagina' twice, the broadcast-standards people blinked," added Rhimes. "We fought that and won — but 'va-jay-jay' is our favorite alternate term."
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Rhimes relayed that she had overheard one of the “Grey’s” assistants say “va-jay-jay” and called the term “the greatest phrase I’d ever heard.”
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