Revived this show! Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo discussed the aftermath of Patrick Dempsey‘s departure from the beloved ABC series after his character was killed off in season 11. Pompeo, 46, who has starred as Meredith Grey on the show since its 2005 premiere, was asked about the show’s massive success on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Monday, April 25, as Grey’s continues through its 12th season.
“It’s doing very, very well,” DeGeneres noted to her guest. “That’s amazing. And everybody thought because Patrick was leaving that it wouldn’t do well, but it’s doing very well.”
“Yeah,” Pompeo replied. “It’s amazing how much you get done without a penis.”
Dempsey, 50, played Pompeo’s onscreen husband, Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd, but was killed off the series in April 2015. Fans were devastated. Later, series creator Shonda Rhimes hinted that she killed off Dempsey’s character because they weren’t getting along off screen. (He isn’t the only star on Grey’s to get the boot from the show due to personal differences. Other former stars include Katherine Heigl and Isaiah Washington.
Despite the behind-the-scenes drama, Pompeo had kind things to say about her former colleague. “We miss him dearly, but yeah, the show is doing very well,” she said with a laugh, before addressing rumors of Grey’s possibly ending.
“No, it’s not the last season,” she continued. “I think a lot of people were really upset about his departure, which is super-understandable, but I think the change is part of the reason why the show goes on so long. I think people tune in to see, ‘What does the show look like now?’ What is Meredith going to do without Derek? I think they get so upset about the change, but change is precisely what everyone always needs to sort of get to the next place.”
Watch the video above.
