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‘Scandal’ Cast, Shonda Rhimes and Ellen DeGeneres React to the Show’s Shocking Death

A death in the Scandal family. Viewers said goodbye to a major character, who was shockingly killed off on the Thursday, April 20, episode of the long-running ABC series. Watch the death scene in the clip above.

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

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Mellie Grant’s chief of staff, Elizabeth North (played by Portia de Rossi), was murdered by the Mystery Woman (Zoe Perry) in a brutal attack with a golf club. De Rossi, 44, told Entertainment Weekly that she chose to end her time on Scandal — which she’s been a part of since 2014 — in order to focus on her art curation and publishing business. “Toward the end of last year, I started a business and I realized that the business was going to be very time-consuming,” she said. “I just wanted to try something different.”

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 Ellen DeGeneres took to Twitter to praise her wife de Rossi’s performance on the Washington, D.C., drama.“I’m proud of my wife for her epic performance on #Scandal. I will miss Lizzie Bear, but I’m glad Portia Bear is sitting right next to me,” she tweeted.

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The show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, and the rest of the cast also shared their love for de Rossi. Rhimes, 47, posted a long statement on Twitter, writing, “I have been a fan of Portia’s for years and it was an honor to have her join our Scandal family. Portia infused Liz North with a smart powerful vulnerable soul while also making the humor sing — and that brought all of us in the writers room a lot of joy. If I could keep her forever, I would — but kidnapping is illegal. Besides, I am incredibly impressed with the vision she has for her creative future. I wish her all the best.”

Kerry Washington, who plays Olivia Pope, shared a photo of de Rossi from set while filming the death scene. “Bloody beautiful. #Scandal,” she captioned it. “(Also … AND I SAY THIS WITH A LOTTA LOVE, you gotta know by now that if you haven’t watched the episode, you should stay away from social! Sorry for the spoilers but this is what live tweeting looks like).”

See more reactions from the cast below:

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