Ellen Pompeo Jokes That Success of Grey's Anatomy Is Due to Taylor Swift – and Her Cat! (Exclusive)

Ellen Pompeo has an inkling on why Grey's Anatomy has been so successful — and it might come down to music superstar Taylor Swift.

In PEOPLE’s new Grey’s Anatomy special edition issue, on newsstands now, the 54-year-old actress shares a few reasons why she thinks the show has remained on the air for 20 seasons — and counting. 

“[Creator] Shonda Rhimes is a great writer. Second, Taylor Swift named her cat after Meredith Grey! Just kidding. It is because of our awesome fans,” says Pompeo.

The music superstar — who released her surprise double album The Tortured Poets Department on April 19 — has long been a fan of the series and tapped Pompeo to be in her star-studded "Bad Blood" music video in 2015.

“Her people called my people and were said, ‘Would you like to be in this video?’ And I was like, ‘Of course, that would be so fun. There’s an old lady section? I’m down,'” Pompeo recalled on Jimmy Kimmel Live the following year.

However, fans shouldn’t hold their breath on Pompeo meeting the feline named after her Grey’s Anatomy character. 

“I’m super allergic to cats. It’s going to be awkward,” she said of meeting Swift’s cat at the time.

In 2022, Pompeo was asked about the possibility of Swift making a cameo on the ABC medical drama. The star told Extra at the time: "I think she's pretty busy, but that would be fun. I would love it."

While Swift has yet to appear on the show, her song “White Horse” was featured in a season 5 episode, which she called “basically the best thing ever” in a clip resurfaced on TikTok.

“I love Grey's Anatomy because I think it's the best example of dry, sarcastic humor I've ever seen mixed with drama, because in life there's humor and there's drama,” she said. “You know, when you're watching comedies, it's like, that's awesome and makes you laugh and it’s light, but you know, when a breakup happens on a comedy — and they're all just laughing about it all the time, and they don't ever feel it — it's hard for me to buy that because in real life, like you laugh about some things, but you cry about other things.” 

She added: “So I think that Grey's Anatomy has a great balance of real emotions slash dry humor.”

For more on Grey’s Anatomy and its cast, pick up PEOPLE's special issue, out Friday.

PEOPLE's Grey’s Anatomy special edition issue is on newsstands now. The magazine retails for $14.99. Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.