Patrick Dempsey On "Grey's" Lesbian Firing: ABC Told Me What To Say (VIDEO)

Today "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey goes on Ellen and talks about the surprise firing of Brooke Smith, one half of the show's new lesbian relationship:

"ABC actually sends me over what I should [say] ...," he tells Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show Wednesday.

So what's the official spin?

"ABC's response ... is that [I] should say: 'We've had a great time working with her and that the conclusion of her [character] has been orgasmic' -- I'm sorry, I'm dyslexic! -- 'organic' ending to the story line.' "

Some have argued that Smith was axed because of her character's developing relationship with Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez).

Grey's Anatomy's creator, Shonda Rhimes, previously released a statement insisting that "Brooke Smith was obviously not fired for playing a lesbian."

"Thursday night is her last show, which is too bad she has been great character," McDreamy continues. "I don't know what happened with that story line. They decided not to continue it for some reason."

More about the firing.

WATCH DEMPSEY:

Comments

[JustMom]

This is the second person fired in real life while the characters that stayed with the show mourns the loss. Call it creativity but when the same thing happens twice it's not creative anymore.

Gave the show a chance the first time with Burke but not willing to do it again.

Diversity takes understanding and practice.

I will continue to watch "The View" as they are diverse and don't give up on each other. Can't say the same for Grey's.

[synergie]

um, you watch a drama for diversity? It was a boring storyline awkwardly done. Get over it. Its a freaking hospital seemingly run by its surgical residency program, and you're going on about diversity? HAH!!!

[morbie5]

"The View" has 2 out of 5 black people on the show. 40 percent of the total women are black, but black people only make up like 12 percent of the population of the US. Should I boycott "The View" because it is over representing black people?

[SeanGardner]

over-reaching with your hyperbole...and your post fell flat.

[SeanGardner]

"Gave the show a chance the first time with Burke but not willing to do it again."

Me too. The way they treated Isiah was horrible. That's the very reason I stopped watching, and haven't seen an episode of the show since Isiah's departure.

[JustMom]

That kind of horrible treatment seems to be standard practice at Grey's. Both situations have something to do with gay relationships and discrimination.

It was important for me to stay with the show as I had hoped something positive would have come between Isiah and Knight. That did not happen and even though the situation was different this time; it 's still discrimination. Turning on each other and not working it out is not a good example to set. The ends do not justify the means.

I'll be watching "30 Rock" tonight. Tina played Sara Palin but was not mean spirited. We all do better when we make an attempt to understand and forgive each other.

[firelord5000]

It was a badly done character, and she was forced to fill in the massive boots of Isiah, the show has gone down story and rating wise since Isiah got fired, and this is just another mistake in a long like of mistakes.

[kentatm]

i dunno. most of the people i know that watch that show actually hated her character and not b/c she was gay but b/c they thought she comes off like a jerk.

i dont watch the show so im simply repeating what ive been told

[CubanVoice]

I do watch the show and I agree!

[synergie]

I kinda liked that she was a jerk, though I didn't like her. But the whole relationship with callie thing just felt odd, it didn't mesh with how they created the characters.

[Hechizera]

I totally agree. Her character was despicable. Every time she opened her mouth I wanted to bítchslap her into the middle of next week. Good riddance.

[Aurora333]

While I agree Grey's has been faltering a bit, it has nothing to do with this story line.
In fact, I thought it was very realistic. I know several women who have been straight, thought they were straight, and then fell in love with a woman. The Hahn character's analogy of "its like getting glasses and seeing leaves for the first time" was quite accurate. Up until I learned of this firing, I considered myself a Grey's fan and watched every week. I'm now questioning if I'll continue to watch. I don't know if I'm that interested. It seems this story line was just getting going, and I'm sick of McDreamy and Meredith, etc. This story was interesting and different. I wanted to see how the characters dealt with this newfound aspect of themselves.

If the story line didn't go anywhere - fine, but its very suspicious to me to just cut it off after its barely begun and fire one of the actresses, and a very good actress at that. Shame on you Grey's. How disappointing.

[Jen326]

I couldn't have said it better myself. I don't know if I'll continue watching for two reasons:

1) What storyline was more interesting than the Callie/Dr. Hahn relationship?

2) I have my doubts about ABC's motives. This is the network that ran the factually ridiculous The Path to 9/11 and the network that fired Bill Maher for being honest. I would not be surprised if this firing was motivated by the lesbian storyline based on their previous embraces of right wing insanity. I don't want to support ABC by giving them ratings.

It's too bad. I used to really like that show.

[rankola]

I speculated in another post that Ellen Pompeo got all in a ruffle because the story line between Hahn and Torres was just starting to take off while Grey and McDreamy were still cycling through the same ole crap of Meredith's neuroses.

Since the show is called Grey's Anatomy, not Torres' Anatomy or Hahn's Biorhythms, Pompeo felt that any other story was just secondary because she is an intern and the show centers around her and "her person" (Yang), and everyone else is just sort of incendiary filler, but needs to have some sort of story to keep it going. In the end, the show almost always closes in on Pompeo.

[bioluminescence]

This post makes some interesting points. As to the reason for the firing of the actress, perhaps some television advertising insiders can address this: Is it possible that there was pressure from the main advertisers of the show? Does anyone know if advertisers have the right of final approval of dramaic TV scrips?

[Sock]

Huh? They wrote the character. Why are they acting like they created Frankenstein's monster? ABC are LOUSY at making creative decosions for shows like this...remember Lost's decision to back burner Rose and Bernard and give us the joy of Nikki and Paolo??? ABC brass....SHUTUP.

[siney]

grey's had been getting rather boring...got weary of the meredith/mcdreamy, izzie/george, et al merry go round...i only started watching again last season BECAUSE THEY BROUGHT BROOKE SMITH ON... i'll never forget her as the well girl in silence of the lambs!! "here prissy!" (i think that was the dog's name?).....terrific actress and a great pity ABC has no backbone, but then so too do alot of people who voted yes on the several gay marriage bans across the country... smith's character was compelling and alot to explore there AND she had great chemistry with sara ramirez... don't tell me she was fired for any reason other than lack of imagination and will on the part of the network and show producers...

[Hemkit]

It was Precious.

[Wilson201]

I like the actress but the storyline seemed a bit forced. But, then again, all the story lines are forced! I wish she would stay. She was good on Weeds too.

[editorjuno]

...and excellent on NBC's canceled "Crossing Jordan." I don't even watch "Grey's," but Brooke Smith is a very good actress.

[luckyoldson]

"...the storyline seemed a bit forced..."

A "Grey's Anatomy" storyline that seems "forced?"

Good lord what's next? Boston Legal stretching the bounds of the legal system? ER throwing sex into the operating room?

What a hoot.

[Wilson201]

Said tongue in cheek.

[Chris210]

None of the fans seemed to like this storyline, plain and simple. I don't think it was so much about the fact that it was a gay relationship, but rather the characters who were involved. They seemed to have no chemistry, one had already been established as straight and it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Nobody was really buying it. It would have been tough to just drop the storyline but keep the character of Hahn.

[sisterdebmac]

That's great that you can speak for the entire audience of this show and all "straight" women everywhere. Good on you.

But you're wrong. Some people did like the storyline. And some previously "straight" women have dabbled a little with same sex relationships.

But I'm very impressed that you're such an expert.

[synergie]

Well, this straight woman certainly didn't. It was boring and unbelievable. I was very annoyed with it from the beginning. None of my friends (ones who are fans of the show) regardless of their sexual orientation or whatever drunken fumblings they may have indulged in cared for it either. Didn't fit the character.

Dial back the defensiveness, most fans on the blogs didn't care much for it.

[Goliadkin]

Brooke Smith is cool. I've seen her do some nice stage work in Off-Broadway stuff in New York. She was in Andre Gregory's company (as in, My Dinner with Andre). She'll find other nice roles, I'm sure. I always enjoy seeing her. The rest is all yimmer-yammer.

[CarlyS]

Could he be anymore a classless jerk with no tact? He pulled out what ABC told him to say on a paper.

[sisterdebmac]

Actually, I think that's perfect. He's making no bones about the fact that he thinks it's a lame decision and he is NOT going to spin it. By bluntly saying that ABC prepared a statement for him, he's showing us that he thinks it's crap that they expected him to just go out there and blithely say what they wanted him to say as if they were his own thoughts.

[invisible]

It was a slick way to disassociate himself with their choice. A nice, subtle pushing of ABC under the bus. I kinda liked it.

[bobsmith]

You're a real company man, aren't you? You always do what you told... you follow the rules whether they're idiotic or not... you suck up to management... you probably rat out your peers...

Yep, you're definitely management material. I see a promotion in your future.

[avicenna]

I don't think dyslexia refers to reading "organic" as "orgasmic" - it may have freudian roots, but not dyslexic.

[jimsey]

I'm quite sure he was joking.

[avicenna]

so was I...

[CMT]

SHE NEVER FIT INTO THE SHOW QUITE RIGHT ANYWAY. GAY STORYLINE OR NOT - SHE JUST DIDN'T FIT. ENOUGH SAID.

[ObiW]

You are absolutely correct! She never did. Her character was written to laud her smarts over everyone and to take the place of the other smart ass doctor, Isaiah Washington who left the show over some homophobic remark. However, I would have loved to see them bring in another woman to break them up. This would send Dr Hahn running out of the picture to fix her emotional upheaval.

Doing it this way is clumsy, awkward and just a terrible way for a character to leave a show & a relationship. I blame Shonda Rimes for this mess she created. She definitely could have given her a much better exit on this show.

[Nikola Tesla]

Thanks mom.

[robynn]

Too bad she was fired. I could no longer support the lesbian focus of the show.

[erick28]

come on now! this country is still very homophobic! look what happened to California, the most liberal state... and yet they passed the most important rights that the LGBT has been fighting for. Come on now, how am I not so surprise.

[saxmaniac]

All it took was one advertiser to even question the story line, and ABC caved. It's all about the $'s, and anyone who understands the word "Disney" knows.

[shirleyfeeney]

I don't necessarily agree with the Disney assessment. Disney was one of the first major corporations in the US to extend employee benefits to cover domestic partners.

"All My Children" is also on ABC and it had the first lesbian kiss in daytime, and the storyline surrounding the lesbian character was not only applauded widely, but it was also the recipient of several awards.

[SoCalGal44]

Daytime soaps are very different from primetime "soaps." Primetime ad dollars are more than 3 times those of daytime.

[CarlyS]

Disney lets Brothers and Sisters have a gay couple.