Good American Family’s Ellen Pompeo insists show is “not exploitative at all” in handling Natalia Grace story ...Middle East

Ellen Pompeo has insisted that her new show Good American Family, which unpacks the unsettling true story of Natalia Grace – a child with dwarfism who was accused of lying about her age by her adoptive parents and plotting to destroy their family – is “not exploitative”.

“I think the way we’re telling this story is not exploitative at all,” Pompeo told Radio Times.com.

“We really were mindful of being exploitative and we all asked the question before we did it, including Katie [Robbins], the creator, ‘Why are we telling this story? Do we have a good enough reason?’

“And the truth is, we all believe that we do have a good enough reason because in Hollywood, a lot of us, we talk about inclusivity and inclusion, and we want to tell all types of stories, and we want to represent all types of people, we want everyone to be seen and heard. Well, very rarely do we get to see people with dwarfism tell their side of the story.

“We certainly have opinions of them and portray them on-screen… in very particular ways, very specific ways, but I’ve never seen a little person have an opportunity to tell their side of a story.”

Pompeo then went on to list the other “reasons” why Good American Family justifies its existence following the already extensive coverage of Natalia Grace’s story.

“We also had neurodivergent children on the show,” she added. “We deal with mental health issues. We deal with the issue of abuse and neglect and parenting and what impact we have on children. So I think we had so many reasons to tell this story.”

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Pompeo stars as Kristine Barnett who, along with her husband Michael, played here by Mark Duplass, “slowly start to suspect” that Natalia Grace “may not be who she says she is”.

“As they defend their family from the daughter they’ve grown to believe is a threat, she fights her own battle to confront her past and what her future holds, in a showdown that ultimately plays out in the tabloids and the courtroom,” reads the official synopsis. 

But contrary to the confidence she now has in Good American Family, Pompeo did say that she initially had “a lot of hesitation” about joining the show.

“It’s a very delicate story to tell and it has to be told in the right way and with a lot of thoughtfulness behind it,” she explained. “And Katie, after one conversation with her, I knew she was empathetic enough and thoughtful enough and would tell the story the right way.”

Imogen Faith Reid, an actor with dwarfism who plays Natalia, echoed Pompeo’s comments.

“Katie is so empathetic and sensitive, and she really worked with us during every scene,” she said. “And she was so passionate about telling this story to get Natalia’s story out there, so we were in really good hands.”

Reid also praised the cast and crew for checking in on each other throughout filming.

“There were a couple [of scenes that were difficult to film],” she said. “[But] the environment that we were in, everybody was so supportive… the cast, crew, it was a safe space.

“Me and Ellen had to do a couple of things that were quite hard and… I felt so comfortable with her. And afterwards, we would make sure each other were OK. She’d always ask me if I was OK, and there were times where I thought I really need to ask her as well because this is really hard for her.

“At the end of the day, it’s checking up on the person that you’re doing it with. ‘Are you comfortable? Are you safe? Are you OK?’ And I think we all did that for each other.”

Good American Family premieres on 19th March on Hulu in the US and 9th April on Disney Plus in the UK and internationally – you can sign up to Disney Plus for £4.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

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