Ellen Pompeo: 'I've Never Had an Eating Disorder'

Ellen Pompeo has a message for all the body shamers out there: Stop talking about her weight. The Grey’s Anatomy actress is ending rumors once and for all, telling PeopleStyle she never suffered from an eating disorder.

“I used to get a lot of criticism for how thin I was, and I didn’t have a lot confidence because of it,” she says in the new issue of People. “But I was naturally thin.”

She adds that all the speculation about her body sent a horrible message to young girls who admire her career.

“I always thought it was irresponsible of the media to portray me as someone with an eating disorder because if some girls look up to me and think that’s what you have to do to look like me, it’s a horrifying concept,” she explains. “I listened to the criticism a little too much — and this was pre-social media. It’s even crazier to think what women have to deal with now.”

The 46-year-old actress also took the time to set the record straight on plastic surgery, saying Botox is just not her thing.

“For me, personally, I don’t do Botox or anything like that,” she shares. “It can’t be what’s on the outside, it’s gotta be what’s on the inside.”

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She says that the aging process has helped her realize that life extends so far beyond your appearance.

“I think when you’re in your ’20s and ’30s, you’re super obsessed with your looks because you don’t have any other wisdom,” she says. “I have the wisdom to know that growing old is a privilege that not everyone is afforded. If my physical beauty is the only thing that leaves me and my health and my family stay, then that is what’s really important to me.”

For more on Ellen’s take on aging in Hollywood, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE.

What do you think of Pompeo’s candid response to body shamers and aging gracefully? Share below.