Ellen Pompeo reveals she wasn’t allowed to say the 'V word' on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’: "But you can say..."
Ellen Pompeo covered interesting subjects like openly addressing sexuality and the value of authenticity in medical dramas while appearing on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' during quarantine in November 2020. The 'Grey's Anatomy' star exposed the double standards of the television industry by revealing that studio bosses forbade the show's writers from having characters use the word "vagina" in season one. "We said "penis" in that episode 97 times. You can say "penis" 97 times but you can't say "vagina"?" she said vehemently. According to People, Pompeo recalled that Shonda Rhimes, the show's creator, invented the phrase "va-jay-jay" for "vagina" after a heated argument on the set.
"There was a big fight — I may be butchering this story but — there was a big fight because with standards and practices." She continued, "And that's why...That's where the term 'va-jay-jay' came from. [Creator Shonda Rhimes] made up 'va-jay-jay' because standards and practices would not let us say 'vagina.'" Rhimes added, "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." Back in 2006, the 'Station 19' actress discussed censorship with television mogul Oprah Winfrey. Rhimes recounted how she loved the phrase 'va-jay-jay' used by one of the production assistants and thought it was "the greatest phrase I'd ever heard."
The 'Good American Family' actress told Winfrey that the show's creators didn't want the word 'vagina' inserted into the screenplay, but they were fine with the term 'penis.' Rhimes reminded them that an appropriate representation of concepts pertaining to gender and sexuality was necessary since it was a medical show. The production team had to comply and 'va-jay-jay' became the preferred alternative word. "The network said we were using the word 'vagina' too much. I kept saying, 'It's a medical show!" she said. On the other hand, Chandra Wilson recalled the first time the feminine vocabulary was added while being interviewed by Steve Harvey. "When Bailey gave birth it's season two and we birthed vajayjay," referring to the time her on-screen character screamed, "Stop looking at my vajayjay," in season 2, episode 17.
The Emmy nominee revealed that the term was introduced with good humor. "'Vajayjay' in the table read was a time stopper because we laughed for I don't know how long. This was one of those times where we hadn't gotten the script ahead of time, so there hadn't been any time to comment on it," she told Cosmopolitan in 2015. "We had a great time with it, so the fact that the audience received it and that it became something and that 'vajayjay' is in the dictionary now is the icing on the cake," she added. Fans have since reacted to the funny scene making it the most iconic.
"This part cracks me up every time I watch this episode of Grey's Anatomy it kinda makes me wonder how them actors managed to keep a straight face while shooting this scene," a viewer commented in jest under the viral clip from the show shared on YouTube. "Yo!! She said stop looking at my vajayjay and he looked the other way and said yes ma'am," a fan mocked. "They actually invented a new word: Vajayjay, for this episode of the show. After it was used on TV for the first time, people all over the US, Canada, and other English-speaking countries started using it as a euphemism for Vagina," an online user pointed out.