Are ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Fans Boycotting Show After The Death Of Derek Shepherd?

Fans of Grey’s Anatomy just aren’t ready to let go of Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). The beloved neurosurgeon was killed off during this season of the medical drama, and some fans are now boycotting the show because of it.

Derek had been a mainstay on the show since the beginning, and, while there were reports of him not getting along with creator Shonda Rhimes and a few other cast members, his death hit many as a complete surprise.

However, there were a few ominous signs that Dempsey would eventually leave the show. Besides the rumors of fighting between him and Rhimes, the creator also wrote his character out of a large portion of this season. Fans didn’t see much of Derek after he took a job in Washington and left the Seattle area. When he finally did return, things seemed to be looking up for him and Meredith until the accident that took his life and left fans disappointed.

According to ABC Eyewitness News, a petition was started following the departure of Dempsey’s character in order to reinstate him on Grey’s Anatomy. The petition quickly gained 25,000 supporters, proving that there were many fans who were disappointed with the show.

Despite the boycotting and petitions, Dempsey seems to be okay with how everything turned out. “It just kind of happened…I like the way it played out,” Dempsey stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly about his character’s final moments. He went to talk about how he left the show on good terms with both his fellow cast members and Rhimes.

However, even though Dempsey might be fine with his exit from the show, fans are still having trouble dealing with it. In fact, the creator of the petition, Courtney Williams, has managed to amass some 70,000 viewers on her change.org petition.

“You cannot have people invest a decade into a character and then you just terminate them like that!” Williams wrote. “Why would you do us like this? Dedicated and die-hard fans! We DO NOT deserve this!”

Even with the massive uproar provided by the fans, Rhimes has yet to respond, though she has revealed that there are more surprises on the way for the show. “The possibilities for what may come are endless,” she wrote in a statement sent to the Hollywood Reporter.

Dempsey still had one more year left on his contract with the show when his character was killed off. However, with him being fired, and his contract now ended, there’s little hope for fans that they’ll ever see him again on Grey’s Anatomy.

[Image Credit: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images]