When a clever new Grey’s Anatomy character joins the Grey Sloan team, I always think to myself, “Don’t get too fond of them!” If any show could be described as “musical chairs,” it would be the ABC drama. However, in 2018, two popular cast members were let go, and now one of them is talking about how brutal the situation was. I speak for all fans when I say I hate hearing this!
Sarah Drew talked to her co-stars Camilla Luddington and Jessica Capshaw on their podcast Call It What Is about the harsh experience of being fired. She said she “was unceremoniously let go in a way that felt mean and unjust.” Back in 2018, she told Vulture “you almost feel like you’re attending your own funeral.” In this recent podcast interview, the actress explained that her words were taken the wrong way (a novel experience, right?) and she was trying to say “the outpouring of love was so enormous” it reminded her of when people give speeches at a funeral.
Drew continued she doesn’t “need anything from anyone on that set anymore.” She added, “They’re not responsible for my livelihood anymore. They’re not responsible for my success or my joy.”
I’m angry to hear Drew call her firing “mean and unjust” because, even six years later, I’m not over losing April Kepner (and I don’t think other viewers are, either). Drew hasn’t shared exact details of what she was told when she was fired. Yes, that’s mature and professional of her… but if it was “mean,” it must have been a rough conversation. Drew played April from seasons 6 through 14, and any major cast member would expect to keep their job if they had been there that long.
When Deadline reported that Drew and Capshaw were leaving, it was clear that it wasn’t their choice. According to the publication, it was a storytelling choice. Showrunner Krista Vernoff said, “As writers, our job is to follow the stories where they want to go and sometimes that means saying goodbye to characters we love.”
But, how can writing two intelligent and important doctors off the show be a good idea? Ever since April and Arizona Robbins left Grey’s Anatomy after season 14, there has been an obvious hole where the two characters once were. Both April and Arizona were part of some of the most beautiful and moving storylines on the series. April struggled to find herself again after losing her baby boy Samuel, and the usually sunny Arizona wrestled with the unfairness of life when she lost her leg after a plane crash. The characters did everything Grey’s Anatomy characters are supposed to do: chased their dreams, took risks, opened up their hearts, and admitted life isn’t easy most of the time.
At the time, there was some chatter that Capshaw and Drew were fired because Ellen Pompeo had gotten a massive and historic raise and was now being paid $20 million a year. Pompeo and Vernoff posted on X that this wasn’t true and that it was also sexist to suggest it.
Sure, fans always want their favorite characters to make appearances, and April and Arizona have briefly come back to Grey Sloan. If I had my way, they never would have left in the first place! Life is already too full of stressful pivots and changes, and there’s really nothing like curling up and watching a new Grey’s Anatomy episode. I just want to know that my favorite doctors are going to stay put. Sure, cast members might not be able to stay on a TV show forever, but it seems to me they should get to decide when and how they leave.