Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo has become the highest paid actress on primetime TV, ranking in $20 million a year, thanks to the deal she just signed with ABC — along with a seven-figure signing bonus and two full backend equity points on the series.

In a new interview with Hollywood Reporter, Ellen revealed that the network used to use Patrick Dempsy as leverage to pay her less.

“They could always use him as leverage against me — ‘We don’t need you; we have Patrick’ — which they did for years,” she said. “I don’t know if they also did that to him, because he and I never discussed our deals. There were many times where I reached out about joining together to negotiate, but he was never interested in that.”

“At one point, I asked for $5,000 more than him just on principle, because the show is ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and I’m Meredith Grey,” she continued. “They wouldn’t give it to me. And I could have walked away, so why didn’t I? It’s my show; I’m the number one. I’m sure I felt what a lot of these other actresses feel: Why should I walk away from a great part because of a guy? You feel conflicted but then you figure, ‘I’m not going to let a guy drive me out of my own house.'”

When Patrick left the show, ratings spiked. But quickly the network began looking for another man to star in the show.

“I was on vacation in Sicily, decompressing — it was a long working relationship and it was a tumultuous end and I needed a moment to just chill with some rosé — and they’re calling me, going, ‘What do you think of this guy?” ‘What do you think of this guy?'” she recalled. “And they’re sending pictures. I was like, ‘Are you people f**king nuts? Why do you feel that you have to replace this person?’ I couldn’t believe how fast the studio and the network felt like they had to get a penis in there.”

“What happened is that I went to Shonda and I said, ‘If you’re moving on to Netflix and you want the show to go down, I’m cool with that. But if you want it to continue, I need to be incentivized. I need to feel empowered and to feel ownership of this show,'” she said.  “It’s also why our relationship is so special. I was always loyal to her, and she responds well to loyalty.”

Read the interview at HR.