Shonda Rhimes Admits To Killing Off A Character Due To Not Liking An Actor
Shonda Rhimes, the creator of shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away With Murder, Scandal and Private Practice, is currently on a tour to promote her first book, Year of Yes. While Rhimes was on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, she played a game where she was forced to tell the truth.
According to E!, Rhimes shocking confession is that she killed off someone’s character on a show because she hated the actor portraying said character. When asked, “Have you ever killed off a character because you didn’t like the actor? And extra bonus points, who was it…Don’t even think about lying,” Rhimes replied, “Yes, and I’m not naming names.”
I hate inspirational memoirs, but Shonda Rhimes’ won me over: https://t.co/WujrXEHhAk pic.twitter.com/VDo1EDPftw
— Slate (@Slate) November 12, 2015
As you may know, Rhimes is the queen of killing off characters, so we have plenty of people to point to. We can figure that it might be Patrick Dempsey, who starred on the show Grey’s Anatomy for over 10 years before his character, Derrick, met his untimely death. Although Dempsey denied he was fired from the hit ABC medical drama, right after his Entertainment Weekly feature came out, rumors started circulating that Rhimes fired the actor for having an inappropriate relationship with a colleague while on set. His rep went on to deny this claim as well. This may be a popular theory to go with since McDreamy’s death is so fresh in fans’ minds.
T.R. KNIGHT (b. 26Mar1973) – American actor – became famous for his role as Dr. George O’Malley on Grey’s Anatomy. pic.twitter.com/YlJBw5vOmX
— David-Paul (@InnerBouquet) March 26, 2015
Another huge theory is T.R. Knight from Grey’s Anatomy. Knight played the character George O’Malley for five seasons before he was killed in a gruesome manner. If you remember, O’Malley pushed a woman out of the way from getting hit by the bus. He wound up getting hit instead and was dragged underneath the bus, suffering horrible injuries that his colleagues that were working to save his life didn’t even recognize him and referred to him as John Doe.
Knight had his own scandal behind the scenes, when his former Grey’s colleague Isaiah Washington (also fired), referred to him as a gay slur while fighting with Patrick Dempsey in the third season. Washington denied this ever happened backstage at an awards show while using a gay slur in front of the entire cast. This scandal caused Knight to come out and put a wedge between he and Rhimes.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Knight said that he left the show due to a “breakdown in communication” with Shonda Rhimes. After his character’s screen time was drastically cut down, the actor decided that it was time to close the chapter on the beloved George O’Malley. At the time, the actor said during his exit interview: “My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about his character, George].”
During the interview, he said, in the end, George wasn’t someone he could understand or respect. During his later years on the show, George cheated on his wife Callie and slept with his best friend Izzie on the show, which caused irrevocable damage.
“It didn’t seem like an ebb to me. No other series regular’s character had ever disappeared like mine did this past season.”
In the interview he even referred to Isaiahgate as a point where he and the series creator were in contention. Because it took Rhimes months to apprehend Washington, Knight said it was a “frustrating” time. Rhimes denied most of his claims, specifically when Knight said she wanted him to remain in the closet at the time of the Isaiah incident.
Then there’s Columbus Short to consider. The actor was fired from the hit show Scandal while it was in his prime. Why was he fired? According to Hollywood Life, the actor was fired for his own personal life being in the headlines, which mounted to domestic abuse reports including threatening to kill himself and injure his wife at the time.
These three theories are the most popular ones out of all the characters Shonda Rhimes has killed. That said, unlike a How To Get Away With Murder season, this mystery will probably stay under wraps.
[Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images]
