Shonda Rhimes is a woman who's not afraid to tell you her value.
At Elle magazine’s 25th annual Women at Hollywood celebration, attended by The Hollywood Reporter, Rhimes shared that she's the "highest-paid showrunner on television."
“The other day I came to this conclusion that men brag and women hide," she told the audience, which included the likes of Lady Gaga, Charlize Theron and Angela Bassett.
(MORE: 'Grey's Anatomy' star Ellen Pompeo's secrets to success: Be a problem solver)"We are powerful women. And when we say we have power, what we are really saying is, we DESERVE to have power." https://t.co/fxDB5N1sj2
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) October 17, 2018
"Even when they don’t deserve to brag, men brag -- Trump, Kavanaugh -- and when men do deserve to brag, they are good at it," she continued.
Rhimes then discussed the criticism that her "Grey's Anatomy" star, Ellen Pompeo, received when she revealed she was the highest-paid actor on TV.
"She said she was powerful and she said deserved it, and there was some blowback," Rhimes said. "There should not have been. I have seen a thousand articles like that from men but she’s a woman and she shouldn’t say things like that."
(MORE: Shonda Rhimes announces 2 departures from 'Grey's Anatomy' cast, fans upset)#ELLEWIH ??: @thefacinator https://t.co/pdIPucjSHY pic.twitter.com/lYDXZK9340
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) October 16, 2018
Rhimes said she felt compelled to correct the "wrong" information the press had reported about her Netflix deal. Speculation was she'd signed a $100 million, multi-year deal.
“When I made a deal with Netflix, I let them interview my salary wrong in the press, and then I did as few interviews as possible and I put my head down and worked. In other words, I hid," Rhimes said. "I’m getting this award for inspiring other women; how can I inspire anyone if I’m hiding?”
