Ellen Pompeo applauds Jesse Williams' parenting

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Ellen Pompeo thinks Jesse Williams is a great dad to his kids.

The 48-year-old actress gave a shoutout to Williams, her Grey's Anatomy co-star, in an Instagram post Thursday following the 37-year-old actor's custody battle with Aryn Drake-Lee.

Pompeo shared a photo of Williams appearing to hand a lunchbox to one of his children. The actor is parent to 4-year-old daughter Sadie and 3-year-old son Maceo with Drake-Lee.

"Shoutout to all the dads doing their part holding it down showing up for their babies... @ijessewilliams," Pompeo captioned the post.

Williams was ordered in June to pay $50,629 per month in child support to Drake-Lee, in addition to the $50,695 per month he pays in spousal support. The court deemed the star has an "extraordinarily high income," earning more than $521,000 per month.

Williams filed for divorce from Drake-Lee in April 2017 after four years of marriage and a decade together. People reported in May the actor is dating sports reporter Taylor Rooks.

Pompeo and Williams play Meredith Grey and Jackson Avery on Grey's Anatomy, which premiered a 15th season on ABC last week. Their former co-star Patrick Dempsey recalled his "special bond" with Pompeo in an interview with Entertainment Tonight published Thursday.

"There was a magic to our connection and that's special," the actor said.