Grey's Anatomy A timeline of behind-the-scenes drama on Grey's Anatomy

Ome

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In the 11 years since Grey's Anatomy first debuted, the show's backstage scandals have often been as compelling and twist-filled as the on-screen storylines. And considering the high melodrama quotient at Seattle Grace/Grey Sloane Memorial Hospital, that's really saying something. Here's a definitive timeline of all the cast's messiest moments.


October 2006: Rumours begin to surface that Isaiah Washington, aka Dr. Preston Burke, used a homophobic slur toward co-star T.R. Knight during a backstage argument. Washington confirms the rumours by issuing an apology for his "unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set."


The whole situation was made more unpleasant by the fact that Knight had not yet publicly come out as gay when the scandal broke — he confirmed his sexuality shortly afterward.


January 2007: Knight confirms that being called the F-word by Washington pushed him to come out. "I've never been called that to my face," he tells Ellen DeGeneres. "When that happened, something shifted, and it became bigger than myself."


Washington confuses things further this month, denying that he ever used the slur against Knight — and using it again in the process. "No, I did not call T.R. [Knight] a faggot," he told reporters backstage at the Golden Globes. "Never happened, never happened."


Katherine Heigl called B.S. on Washington's statement immediately, slamming him for repeating the word itself: "I'm going to be really honest right now, he needs to just not speak in public. Period. I'm sorry, that did not need to be said. I'm not okay with it."


June 2007: Washington is officially fired from the show, following months of controversy and speculation. "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore," he said in a statement.


July 2007: Washington appears on Larry King Live to share his side of the story, claiming that he did use the F-word, but not in reference to Knight. Here's what actually went down, according to him: Washington told Patrick Dempsey to stop treating him like a "B-word," a "P-word," and an "F-word." He didn't mean the latter to be a gay slur, because to him the word just implied "somebody who is being weak."


Washington's departure from Grey's did make for one of the show's most memorably heartbreaking moments of all time, as Burke abruptly left a devastated Cristina at the altar.


June 2008: Heigl formally withdraws herself from Emmy consideration. This wouldn't be a huge deal in itself (although since she won an Emmy for her performance just a year earlier, it was always going to raise some eyebrows). The real news is the passive-aggressive statement she releases by way of explanation: "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organisation, I withdrew my name from contention."


Yikes. In response, Shonda Rhimes points out that Izzie had less to do in season four because Heigl had asked for a lighter work schedule, thanks to her movie commitments.


After Heigl called out the writers so publicly, most people are expecting Izzie to meet an abrupt end, Dr. Drake Ramoray-style. But Heigl does return for season five, under what you can only imagine are pretty awkward circumstances.


July 2009: T.R. Knight leaves the show after the conclusion of season five and later confirms that he was unhappy with his lack of screen time. Yup, there's a pattern emerging…


Following what Knight calls a "gradual breakdown of communication" between himself and Rhimes, he asked to leave the show. "My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George]," he tells EW. "And with respect, I'm going to leave it at that."


In the same interview, Knight claims that Rhimes tried to discourage him from coming out as gay following the Isaiah Washington incident. "I think she was concerned about having my statement come out so close to the [initial] event," he says, but Rhimes firmly denies this.


"I said, 'If you want to come out, that's awesome. We'll totally support that,'" she tells EW, going on to say that she had specifically told Knight that his coming out wouldn't affect George's storylines. "He was concerned that he was going to come out and George would suddenly be gay," she recalls. "I was like, 'We are not going to do that.' The idea that a gay actor can't play a straight man is insulting."


March 2010: Almost two years after the Emmy withdrawal mess, Heigl leaves Grey's Anatomy. "I am done," she confirms. "We just finalised our agreement. Everyone had been working really hard to find an amicable and gracious way of letting go and moving on. It's sad but it's what I wanted." Sounds pleasant and drama-free, right? Read on…


December 2012: More than two years later, Rhimes does not sound thrilled by the way things ended with Heigl. "On some level, it stung," she tells TV Guide of Heigl's exit, "and on some level I was not surprised. When people show you who they are, believe them." Never before has a pearl of Oprah wisdom been deployed with so much shade.


October 2013: Ellen Pompeo, who despite being the show's star has remained admirably scandal-free, acknowledges the crazy backstage drama in an interview with the New York Post. "Hurt feelings, combined with instant success and huge paychecks started things spinning out of control," she says. "The crazier things got, as I watched all the tumult with Isaiah and then the Katie thing, I started to focus on the work. Maybe it's my Boston, blue-collar upbringing … I just tried to not pay attention to all the noise around me."


In the same interview, Pompeo got pretty real about the Heigl situation: "It was tough. You could understand why she wanted to go — when you're offered $12 million a movie and you're only 26. But Katie's problem is that she should not have renewed her contract. She re-upped, took a big raise and then tried to get off the show. And then her movie career did not take off." No lies detected here.


May 2014: Seven years on from his original firing, Washington returns to the show to a mixed reception from viewers, many of whom were incredulous that he'd ever be welcomed back. In response, Rhimes emphasises her belief that he has learned from his mistakes: "Isaiah is a person that we all love and have loved for a very long time. I feel like there have been a lot of people that have been like, 'How can you do this?' And I feel very strongly and fully believe in people's ability to grow and change and learn from their mistakes and when they know better, to do better. If people don't think that, over the course of seven years, it's possible for a human being to change, then there really is no future for the human race at all."


"My first decision and my first responsibility is to the story," she explains. "I have to be the keeper of the story and make sure that we're telling the story we need to tell, regardless of whatever outside factors are involved." Burke returned for just one episode, aptly titled "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," and it ends up being a nice piece of closure for longtime fans.


October 2014: Rhimes is still holding a grudge against Heigl though — so much so that she literally uses her name as a synonym for "assholes" during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "There are no Heigls in this situation," she said, in praise of the Scandal cast. "I don't put up with bullshit or nasty people. I don't have time for it."


November 2014: Heigl responds to Rhimes: "I have nothing negative to say about Shonda," she tells Mario Lopez. "I'm a big fan of her work … I'm sorry she's left with such a crappy impression of me. I wish I could do something to change that. Maybe I will be able to someday."


April 2015: The unthinkable happens. McDreamy is killed off a full season before his contract is up. The show and its fans alike will never fully recover from the loss of Dr. Derek Shepherd, who — adding insult to injury — dies as a result of incompetent medical care after a car crash. Killing McDreamy, and the show's central love story along with him, was such a shocking move that it didn't take long for rumours to start flying about the reason for Dempsey's departure.


Depending on which tabloid version of the story you choose to believe, Dempsey was fired either for acting like a diva on set, having a "messy and emotional" affair with a show staffer, or both. In any case, he got on the wrong side of Shonda, and McDreamy was history.


Dempsey gives an exit interview to EW — which, incidentally, got leaked before his final episode aired, thus spoiling one of the biggest moments in TV history — saying he had an "amazing run" on the show. He describes his exit as "surprising," adding that "it just sort of evolved. It's just kind of happened." He does not specifically address any rumours, but says everything's good with Rhimes and Ellen Pompeo. Asked if he's leaving in a good place with them as a whole, Patrick only replies, "I think so, yes."


November 2015: On The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore, Rhimes admits to killing off a character because she didn't like the actor. "I'm not naming names," she says. But everyone knows who she's talking about.


December 2015: Dempsey responds to Rhimes's killing-off comment, telling EW, "I think she loves being provocative and that's fine for who she is. That gets people talking about all the stuff that she's doing." He also notes that she's promoting a book and three shows: "I think she knows how to deal with the media and what she needs to say to get the response that she's looking for."


April 2016: Heigl addresses her still-controversial Emmy comments, admitting that she took the show's writing too personally. "I didn't feel good about my performance," she explains on the Howard Stern Show. "There was a part of me that thought, because I had won the year before, that I needed juicy, dramatic, emotional material. And I just didn't have that that season."


"I shouldn't have said anything publicly," she continues. "But at the time, I didn't think anybody would notice ... I just quietly didn't submit. Then it became a story, and then I felt obligated to make my statement. And ... shut up, Katie. I should have been like, 'It's personal, whatever.'"


April and May 2016: Rumours swirl that a main character is going to die at the end of season 12 and they intensify when Sara Ramirez tweets "that's a wrap" for Dr. Callie Torres. As it turns out, her character does not get killed off but instead exits the series gracefully. She and Rhimes each release beautiful, gratitude-filled statements. That's how you play nice.
 

darkshadows38

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upon reading this as i plan on reading all this, i do agree with T.R. Knight he wasn't given a really great storyline at all in his last season. it started out fine than it kinda felt like he was dropped and by the end of the season they'd show him teaching and such and his storylines weren't as good as they were in season 4.

with the rest i dunno what to say, them getting rid of Derrick the way they did was just plain stupid as hell. they did it right with Christinia i think with her getting the job of her dreams. they easily could have had him stay working for the president/or have them divorce. they didn't have to kill the guy, i do wonder if she meant Patrick Dempsey though. anyways, reading this drama is quite funny and could make a good tv show if you think about it
 
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Alexis

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Shonda sounds like a nightmare to me. There's a reason why I have actively avoided all of her shows. You'd think I'd be all over Greys Anatomy seeing how long it's lasted and the good cast but something about Shonda's shows just doesn't work for me. Reading that made me see that that something is Shonda Rhimes.
 

darkshadows38

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oh i don't really give a shit about her personally it's Grey's that i love. not all of her shows are good though. she had one that had a nice concept and had promise a couple years back i forget the title of it where the medic was outdoors like in to throw a random country Africa i can't remember where it was suppose to be. but the show wasn't bad it just wasn't that great. most of the time i can separate shows/characters between people. for example Katherine Heigel or however the hell ya spell her last name? is a bitch from what i've heard over the years. though i do like her an as actress and that won't change. i just don't care for her personally that's all. i say try out Grey's you may like it, and honestly there is no doubt Shonda has done some shady things behind the scenes there's no question that, but the thing is to be fair she's NOT the only one who has done some shady things. so it wasn't just her.
 

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I do wish Shonda would have at least given us an ending to Izzie....or a one liner where she is now by Meredith or someone. Open ended leaving...did she go on and live a happy life or did she end up dying from her cancer?

Depending on which tabloid version of the story you choose to believe, Dempsey was fired either for acting like a diva on set, having a "messy and emotional" affair with a show staffer, or both. In any case, he got on the wrong side of Shonda, and McDreamy was history.

The rumor was put to rest that he was having an affair with someone on the set that it didn't happen. But I think we will never know that for sure. Leaving the show has been good for Patrick...him and his wife were on the verge of divorce and are now back together again. I saw a one minute interview with him and he said that he is looking into starring in an AMC show sometime in the future.

When I think about his death on the show now...what other choice did Shonda have but to kill him off? The fans would never except the fact that had split and were getting a divorce..this was Meredith and Derek after all.

From everything I read....and I read a lot lol Shonda turned on Derek when he wanted less time on the show and she didn't know what to do with him.
 

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There's a reason why I have actively avoided all of her shows.
Oh Alexis....!

Whatever Shonda is in real life doesn't reflect in her shows and trust me she can tell some amazing stories. I'm surprised you haven't been watching SCANDAL or GREY'S, they are right up your street, SCANDAL more-so I reckon.
 

Ome

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From everything I read....and I read a lot
When I read the article I thought of you and all the background info you had given me on this show. I posted it because there's was more info and I thought it would be refreshing to read again for those of you already in the know.
 

That Bowie Girl

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When I read the article I thought of you and all the background info you had given me on this show. I posted it because there's was more info and I thought it would be refreshing to read again for those of you already in the know.

Right now and I am sure I will think of more...at the time Shonda said she was OK with T.R. Knight coming out...when in fact she wasn't. She wanted fans to still think of him as a ladies man...you know it was amazing all the girls he was with on the show. So that is why she cut his time back she was trying to force him out of the show.

I agree with you that none of this affects the actual shows they are brilliant..especially Grey's!
 

Alexis

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Oh Alexis....!

Whatever Shonda is in real life doesn't reflect in her shows and trust me she can tell some amazing stories. I'm surprised you haven't been watching SCANDAL or GREY'S, they are right up your street, SCANDAL more-so I reckon.
I tried to watch GREY'S though it just didn't do anything for me. I don't usually like medical dramas or political dramas. So I cant see me doing either. Plus I have had friends that watched GREY'S and heard endless bitching and complaining about killing people off and not being happy about how things went. I'm a weird being and my Shonda avoidance is just part of that I guess. lol
 

Ome

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Plus I have had friends that watched GREY'S and heard endless bitching and complaining about killing people off and not being happy about how things went.
I'm not a fan of medical dramas, but after watching SCANDAL I wanted to see what else Shonda can do. I binge-watched GREY'S and really enjoyed it, deaths and all. I read lots of info on how fans were complaining about losing some characters, but I guess watching it in one go I didn't feel any bitterness, in fact I love a good soapy death :D


SCANDAL, I tried and gave up because I couldn't get interested in the political side of it all. Then one day I decided to go back starting with season 2 and boy was that a whirlwind of excitement. There's not much political buff in that sense, just scandals like you would dream of happening. SCANDAL has some evil twisted characters and many dark times along the way, yet there isn't a character that sits in the background, they all get big stories, they all get twisted and screwed up, it's brilliant watching some of them fall and even more exciting watching them rise again, like a phoenix out of the ashes.
 

darkshadows38

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you may hate season 6 though, well the finale anyways, where they over-stocked that season with people so to get rid of them she had a gun man go around killing a bunch of people. none of the original cast was killed though, and you can say about killing people about other shows as well, i love supernatural but there have been some characters on that show that have pissed me off. and vampire diaries, LOST. even Dallas to name a few
 

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I miss the behind-the-scenes-drama of Grey's Anatomy. Ten years ago everyone would have been shocked if the lead actress left her own show, today it doesn't matter. Now that Meredith has left Grey's Anatomy (for the moment), Meredith Gray is pretended to be one of the most iconic characters on television (if the Variety feature about her is to be believed), but for me Meredith was always the weakest link from the original cast. She's lucky that apart from Bailey and Webber there's nobody important left, so she was able to shine in recent years.
 

James from London

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In my ignorance, I've never seen Grey's Anatomy, but the title of this thread reminded me of this extremely juicy podcast I listened to recently which is about one of the Grey's writers who pretended to have cancer in order to get a job on the show and then exploited her nonexistent condition to influence storylines etc. It's a really good listen and probably even more interesting if you actually know the series:

 

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Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl chat in Variety's latest Actors on Actors segment.
It's interesting who doesn't get credit: Patrick Dempsey and Justin Chambers, two actors the two actresses have been interacting with for a long time. Instead, Katherine Heigl praises Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Ellen Pompeo mentions Kyle Chandler, who only had a short stint on Grey's Anatomy.
 

AndyB2008

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Heigl seems so fake during that chat.
Didn't Heigl cause drama on the set of Roswell as well, where she wanted more screen time at Shiri Appleby's expense?
In my ignorance, I've never seen Grey's Anatomy, but the title of this thread reminded me of this extremely juicy podcast I listened to recently which is about one of the Grey's writers who pretended to have cancer in order to get a job on the show and then exploited her nonexistent condition to influence storylines etc. It's a really good listen and probably even more interesting if you actually know the series:


Reminds me of the Felicity incident where a writer pretended to be 19 when she was twice that age. Disney (the company behind Touchstone TV, makers of Felicity) terminated her contract.

Wonder if the same happened to the Grey's writer?
 
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