The Grey’s Anatomy characters have experienced a lot over the course of 19 seasons. The list includes deaths, betrayals, and extramarital relationships. The sitcom’s ensemble was constantly shifting, but its central characters continued to steal the show.
However, since the show has been on the air for 18 years, nobody can be saved. Some cast members leave on their own initiative, while others were made to. In any case, there was drama around certain exits.
Katherine Heigl (Izzie Stevens)
The first member of the show’s regular cast to leave was Heigl. Izzie moved away from Seattle and got a new career, which made for a wonderful ending to the series about her leaving. But in reality, there were more nuanced factors involved in the actress’s departure.
It was made known that Katherine had a lot of criticism for the program and its creators. It appears that part of this criticism included Shonda Rhimes as the showrunner as well. Heigl gained a lot of animosity from Grey’s Anatomy viewers because of that. Additionally, the crew subsequently admitted that she was quite “difficult” to deal with.
Patrick Dempsey (Derek Shepherd)
Patrick Dempsey is another illustration of a tough individual to deal with. He appeared to be a genuine jrk off-screen even though he played McDreamy on film.
When Dempsey passed away in season 11, many viewers felt bad for his character. But as it became clear that he was genuinely terrorizing the set and continually griping about nearly everything, including the long hours, the schedule, and the screenplay, he quickly lost the affection of his audience.
Sandra Oh (Cristina Yang)
Most likely, this is one of the rare exits that was dramatic in a unique way. At the conclusion of season 10, Sandra Oh departed the program because she believed she had done everything she could for it.
She relocated to Zurich to work there, and her exit tale from the show was fantastic. Her final farewell to the actors and crew was very emotional. She organized a sizable celebration and left the show with everyone on good terms. This time, the conflict was solely about the need for the fanbase to get past her persona.
Isaiah Washington (Preston Burke)
The one and only cast member to have been let go from the program. He was charged with using an anti-gay insult towards T.R. Knight on the set in 2007. He and Patrick Dempsey apparently got into a fight over this because the actor intended to make him pay for his remarks.
Despite the fact that several cast and crew members seen and heard everything, Washington never acknowledged that what he did was improper or accepted responsibility for it.
