Ellen Pompeo discusses Katherine Heigl's past remarks on 'Grey's Anatomy' schedule

Ellen Pompeo is opening up about the time commitment "Grey's Anatomy" has required over the years and her former co-star Katherine Heigl's previous remarks about it.

While speaking with her "Grey's" co-star Kate Walsh on a recent episode of the "Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo" podcast, the actresses discussed the long hours the cast and crew have devoted to the show and how that's changed.

"I'm very lucky now with my schedule on 'Grey's,' I get to cut back and overall I'm happy for the production as a whole because we have cut back tremendously," Pompeo said. "I mean back in the day we used to do crazy, crazy hours and that alone will make you insane."

She then referenced comments their former co-star Katherine Heigl, who portrayed Dr. Izzie Stevens on the show, made about her time working on the medical drama.

"I remember Heigl said something on a talk show about the insane hours we were working but she was 100 percent right,” Pompeo said. “And had she said that today, she’d be a complete hero. But she’s ahead of her time -- made a statement about our crazy hours and of course, let’s slam a woman and call her ungrateful.'”

"When the truth is, she’s 100 percent honest and it’s absolutely correct what she said and she was f------ ballsy for saying it," the actress continued. "She was telling the truth. She wasn’t lying."

The past comments of Heigl's that Pompeo was referencing were likely the remarks Heigl made during an appearance on "The Late Show With David Letterman" in 2009.

While appearing on the show, Heigl, who famously left the series during its sixth season in 2010, discussed shooting the show, saying, "I’m going to keep saying this because I hope it embarrasses them -- a seventeen-hour day, which I think is cruel and mean.”

Pompeo then discussed one of the justifications she felt many actors made at the time for the long hours spent on set.

"When you're younger, you're so excited to be there and you're so happy to be invited to the party that you're willing to do whatever it is they're asking you to do," she said, with Walsh agreeing.

She then remarked that she feels young actors nowadays know that it is "not okay" and she feels "there has been some evolution there."