Sarah Drew Opens Up About How Her Fellow ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Cast Mates Reacted To Her Exit

Grey’s Anatomy actress Sarah Drew spoke out about how supportive her fellow castmates were when she found out she was being let go from the show. As Drew, 37, told Us Weekly, she and fellow castmate Jessica Capshaw had been fired earlier this year after producers told them they decided to go in a different creative direction. Drew had been playing Dr. April Kepner since Season 6, and 42-year-old Capshaw had played Dr. Arizona Robbins since Season 5.

After Drew found out about the producer’s decision to let her go, she said that her co-workers rallied around her, especially Kelly McCreary, who plays Dr. Maggie Pierce on the show.

“Kelly came and found me in my trailer to see how I was doing, and I told her about all these scripts and how exciting and overwhelming it all was, and she started jumping up and down with such joyful delight for me, and then she grabbed me and gave me the biggest hug I think I’ve ever received from anyone,” Drew said, referring to the four scripts she had been reviewing after learning of her departure from Grey’s Anatomy. She added that McCreary showed her such “love and friendship” during their conversation.

Drew filmed one of her last scenes of Season 14, where her character Dr. Kepner awakens after her car crash. She said that the moment was extremely surreal for her because she was “about to say goodbye to this family that I’d grown to love so much.”

“The director said, ‘Cut’ and I caught Caterina [Scorsone] and Chandra [Wilson’s] eyes, and they knew the tears were coming, and they whisked me out into the breezeway, and the three of us had a good long cry. There were a lot of emotional goodbyes, but that moment stands out to me,” Drew said.

The actress says she still maintains contact with her costars but added that she misses being on set with them every day. Additionally, Drew received support for her work on Grey’s Anatomy in the form of an Emmy nod, which she received for her direction of the web series Grey’s Anatomy: B-Team. Drew said she found out the news of her nomination while scrolling through Twitter.

“I was completely blown away,” Drew said. “The Emmy nomination was just the cherry on top of a beautiful experience.”

Grey’s Anatomy returns for its 15th season on September 27 at 8 p.m. Eastern.