“They literally held me for an hour” - Ellen Pompeo recalls being stopped by TSA and bomb Squad before boarding a flight

The Grey's Anatomy alum, Ellen Pompeo, who is considered to be one of the highest-paid actresses, not only in America but in the world, was recently stopped by the bomb squad and TSA (Transportation Security Administration) right before she was about to board a flight. In an interview with Travel + Leisure on May 29, Pompeo opened up about the time she was stopped from boarding her flight as she was carrying an item that was quite expensive.

The incident with the 55-year-old actress took place sometime in March 2025, when she was stopped from getting on her flight because she was carrying a bag full of sunflower seeds, which she bought from Erewhon, an American upscale grocery chain. Describing the incident, Ellen told Travel + Leisure:

"I had a bag of sunflower seeds, like organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon, so they were probably the most expensive sunflower seeds money can buy. They literally held me for an hour, and they brought the bomb squad in. And I was like, what is happening? Is this a joke?'"

Pompeo clarified that she later found out why she was stopped because of those sunflower seeds. She said it was:

"Likely" due to "a chemical on the packaging of these super expensive, fancy, organic, clean sunflower seeds. My protein on the plane!"

Ellen Pompeo reveals why she would not completely exit Grey's Anatomy

Ellen Pompeo is married to Chris Ivery, with whom she shares three children: Stella Luna, Eli Christopher, and Sienna May. In an April 2025 interview with El País, Pompeo discussed why it wouldn't be wise to exit Grey's Anatomy completely. Besides being the face of the popular show, she has also starred in several movies such as Catch Me If You Can, Daredevil, Moonlight Mile, and more.

The three-time People's Choice Award-winning actress, Ellen Pompeo, explained to El País why it wouldn't be right for her to exit Grey's Anatomy completely. She explained:

"That would make no sense, emotionally or financially. The show was streamed more than a billion times in 2024. More than a billion times. The companies that own the show and stream the show make a lot of money from our images and our voices and our faces."

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Pompeo, who explained that if she exited the show completely, everyone would make money except her. She further added:

"To me, it doesn't make any sense that everybody [else] gets to profit off of my hard work. And emotionally, the show means a lot to people. I want to have an attitude of gratitude toward the show."

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