Almost seven years since her character was written off of Grey’s Anatomy, former main cast member Sarah Drew reflected on being “unceremoniously let go” from the hit ABC show after nine seasons.
Drew candidly shared her feelings on her exit during a recent appearance on the Call It What It Is podcast, which is co-hosted by her former Grey’s co-stars Jessica Capshaw and Camilla Luddington.
“We were unceremoniously let go in a way that felt mean and unjust, and, because of that, the outpouring of love was so enormous it was like you were sitting there watching people [eulogize you],” she told her former co-stars. Capshaw, who played pediatric surgeon Dr. Arizona Robbins on the show, was also let go at the time.
Drew starred on medical drama as Dr. April Kepner, a surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital who strikes up a passionate and tumultuous relationship with her longtime friend, Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams). Drew joined the show in 2009 as part of the new class of interns before working her way up to trauma surgery and ultimately resigning in Season 14.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, Drew said she was let go because “the show had too many characters and that they needed to downsize because they couldn’t service all of the characters effectively.”
But Drew expressed to her former co-stars that she “had zero anxiety” reprising her role as a guest star in Seasons 17 and 18.
“I have no attachment to [the show] at all,” she said. “I had zero anxiety [going back because] I don’t need anything from anyone on that set anymore.”
She continued, “They’re not responsible for my livelihood anymore. They’re not responsible for my success or my joy … I’m like, ‘Hey! This is a fun spot to come visit.’”
But Drew also shared one major reveal about her character for fans: April was originally intended to have a one-night stand with Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan, played by Eric Danes, in Season 7.
“Before they made my character love Jesus and a virgin, there’s a scene where Sloan and Reed [Nora Zehetner] have sex, a random one-night stand. That was supposed to be me originally. It was supposed to be April,” she said.
“April was supposed to have some random one-off with Sloan and it was in the original production draft [of the script], and then they changed it,” she continued. “I didn’t have anything to do with it, but then they changed their mind.”
It remains to be seen if Drew will ever pay another visit to Grey Sloan Memorial. But this has generally been a big week for Grey’s fans.
Not only has it been announced that Sophia Bush will be joining the cast in a recurring role, but Peacock also released a three-part documentary series uncovering the lies of former Grey’s writer Elisabeth Finch.