There are a lot of things I’m still forgiving Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes for (like that musical episode — why?) but the departure of Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) from the Seattle Grace roster is pretty high on that list.
Today Dane — the man who played McStreamy before he rudely McLeft us — has helped us inch closer to closure by clarifying why he was savagely booted from the wildly successful television drama.
(Side note: I’m going to assume if you’re here you know what happened to Dane’s character in Grey’s Anatomy Season 9 but, on the off chance you don’t, I should let you know that this article will include spoilers.)
In a new podcast episode of Dax Shepard‘s Armchair Expert, Dane opened up about his struggles with drugs and alcohol, however, clarified that it wasn’t the reason he left Grey’s Anatomy.
In fact, he basically says he didn’t leave at all — at least not on his own accord.
“I didn’t leave so much as I think I was let go,” Dane explained.
“I was struggling. They didn’t let me go because of that, although it definitely didn’t help”.
The 51-year-old went on to say that he was let go after his six-year stint on the medical drama due to his pay-check.
“I was starting to become – as most of these actors who have spent significant time on the show – you start to become very expensive for the network,” Dane told Shepard.
“And the network knows that the show is going to do what it’s going to do irrespective of who they keep on it – as long as they have their [Meredith] Grey they were fine.”
To refresh your memory, Dane was killed off following a fatal plane accident.
It was extra hard pill to swallow considering we had lost Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) — another main character and McSteamy’s longtime love interest — just a few episodes prior.
It’s still one of the most talked about storylines of the show’s 20-season strong run on air.
The deaths of the pair were so impactful that Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital was renamed the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in tribute.
Dane joined Grey’s Anatomy in Season Two which aired back in 2006.
“I wasn’t the same guy they had hired. So I had understood when I was let go,” Dane explained on the podcast.
“And Shonda was really great,” Dane clarified of the mastermind behind the show.
“She protected us fiercely. She protected us publicly. She protected us privately…,” he continued.
“But I was probably fired. It wasn’t ceremoniously like, ‘You’re fired,’ it was just like, ‘You’re not coming back.’”
They say reasons can provide understanding and closure, but I’m not sure these ones are going to help me sleep any better at night. Especially when my dreams involve an alternate universe where Mark and Lexie have several babies.
But at least Dane can get decent shut-eye knowing that the show peaked while he was on it?
You can stream every episode of Grey’s Anatomy on Disney+.