Sarah Drew Says She Had ‘Zero Anxiety’ When Guesting on ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ Even After Her ‘Unjust’ Firing

October 15, 2024 @ 6:32 PM

“Grey’s Anatomy” star Sarah Drew said her firing from the long-running ABC series at the end of its 14th season was “unjust” but that returning to the show in seasons 17 and 18 was “freeing.” She told former co stars Jessica Capshaw and Camilla Luddington on the “Call It What It Is” podcast Sunday, “I don’t need anything from anybody on that set anymore.”

“They’re not responsible for my livelihood anymore. They’re not responsible for my success or my joy,” Drew added. “So it feels very, very freeing to pop back in.”

Drew is the first “main” cast member who has visited the podcast, something Luddington said fans have been “begging” for.

The actress, who starred on the show as April Kepner for 9 seasons, also defended an earlier comment she’d made that getting fired was like “attending [my] own funeral.” She told Capshaw and Luddington in full, “What I was trying to describe was… [I] was unceremoniously let go in a way that felt mean and unjust, and, because of that, the outpouring of love was so enormous it was like you were sitting there watching people [eulogize you].”

Drew published a lengthy statement on social media following the news she’d lost her job in 2018. “I know you’re sad. I’m sad too. I haven’t really had the time to process this information. I’ve been with it for less than 48 hours, so I’m not ready to say my thank yous and give an all encompassing statement about my 9 years here. That will come later,” she wrote in part.

The actress also revealed she was initially only offered a two-episode deal on “Grey’s” after having worked with Shonda Rhimes on another project. “I was originally offered the role of the woman that George [O’Malley] saved [when he] got hit by a truck. She had an episode at the end of season five, top of season six.”

Drew couldn’t take the role due to a scheduling conflict, she said, and Rhimes invited her back to the series a few seasons later. April Kepner had staying power, something that she said was enhanced after her character and that of Jesse Williams’ began a relationship.

“Prior to my character getting with Jesse Williams, I’d always played awkward, ugly duckling, not beautiful people,” she said. “I was ugly until my character started dating Jesse — and now I play romantic leads.”

“I loved all the weirdo characters that I played before moving into romantic lead land,” Drew added.

Her relationship with Williams as co stars was a strong one. Drew referenced the season 10 episode “Go It Alone” when their characters had a fight about how they would raise a Deaf child. Drew’s character Kepner was open about her Christian faith, and it wasn’t unusual for conversations to pivot to religion, especially when the topics brought out tense emotions.

In the episode, Kepner essentially told Williams’ Jackson Avery that she felt sorry for him because “you don’t have any faith” — a statement she struggled with in real life, because it felt “so arrogant.” Drew added, “So I remember weeping … there were so many times with Jesse [like that]” when Williams would “distill” her emotions to make scenes work.

You can listen to the entire podcast episode on iHeartRadio.