'Grey's Anatomy's' Ellen Pompeo’s $20 Snack Sparks TSA Bomb Scare

Ellen Pompeo just proved that even a Hollywood A-lister isn't immune to travel drama, especially when snacks are involved.

The "Grey's Anatomy" star recently recalled how she found herself caught in an unexpected airport situation that had TSA agents on high alert.

What was supposed to be a routine security check turned into a scene straight out of a suspense drama after her sunflower seeds, purchased from the upscale grocery store Erewhon, triggered a security alarm, prompting the bomb squad to arrive.

In March 2025, Pompeo found herself temporarily detained after a bag of organic sunflower seeds she purchased was flagged by TSA.

In a recent chat with Travel + Leisure, the actress recalled the incident, noting that she was held for about an hour.

"I had a bag of sunflower seeds, like organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon, so they were probably the most expensive sunflower seeds money can buy," she said. "They literally held me for an hour, and they brought the bomb squad in."

Pompeo recalled being puzzled and asking what was happening, to which the officials responded, revealing that "it was most likely a chemical on the packaging of these super expensive, fancy, organic, clean sunflower seeds" that triggered the search.

The 55-year-old didn't want any trouble and just wanted to proceed with the security and boarding process, so she offered to dispose of the bag.

However, the officials insisted that she wait for the bomb squad's arrival to confirm the bag's contents.

The ordeal lasted for a while, causing Pompeo to nearly miss her flight. "I almost missed the flight. It was really like no one would ever believe this! I was texting my publicist saying, 'I might not get on this plane, and you're never gonna guess why,'" she explained.

Despite the fiasco, Pompeo told the outlet that she still loves to travel and typically packs her on-flight necessities which include, "mint, glasses, water, hand sanitizer, and baby wipes."

She added, "I have to do the Naomi Campbell thing and wipe down the entire seat.

Although Pompeo loves to travel, she isn't always the most relaxed flyer.

During the chat, she described herself as a nervous flyer and had previously admitted to being very careful whenever she had to travel by air.

The "Catch Me If You Can" actress revealed that one of her air travel fears was turbulence.

According to her, even though pilots were doing a better job of speaking to passengers about expected turbulence, she preferred to have her family, including her three kids, Stella Luna, Sienna May, and Eli Christopher, whom she shares with her husband, Chris Ivery, as her main form of support.

"I like to hold my kids' hands when I take off, which is probably a little selfish, and they're probably feeling my anxiety, which probably isn't the best thing to do," she said.

Ellen Pompeo may be nervous in the air, but she is happier when she arrives at her destination with her family.

"I love any kind of trip as long as my kids are with me. I get a little bit anxious when I travel for work without my kids, but when we're all together, we try to do it all and give them a good mix [of types of trips]," she said.

The People's Choice Award winner said she felt privileged to travel with her kids, and as such, she always made a point of showing them how grateful she was.

"If you're lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel with kids, it's the best education there is, because I don't know who's using algebra in their daily lives," the mom of three shared.

Ellen Pompeo also touched on which "Grey's Anatomy" co-star she would choose to travel with.

"Definitely T.R. [Knight]. Or Katie [Katherine] Heigl, because she'd be like, 'Oh, it's gonna be fine," the star noted.

Although Pompeo feels great traveling with Knight, she isn't comfortable with shooting sex scenes with the actor.

During an appearance on "Call Her Daddy," Pompeo recalled filming an intimate scene with the star who played Dr. George O'Malley.

"And the scene was so uncomfortable and awkward, and he didn't wanna do that. I didn't wanna do it. And when we filmed it, it was so bad," she said.

Unfortunately, Pompeo had to redo the scene multiple times, as the network requested numerous reshoots.

Eventually, it was perfected, but the Hollywood star revealed she was unable to watch the final cut.