‘Mean And Unjust’: Grey’s Anatomy Alum Sarah Drew Reflects On Her Firing As April Kepner

With Grey’s Anatomy ’s 21st season currently airing on the 2024 TV schedule , it’s been six years since Sarah Drew’s character was written off of the show. She’s spoken out before about how “confusing” it was to be let go from that job, since April Kepner had become a favorite of the fandom, and in a conversation with two other Grey’s actresses, she recently opened up about the “mean and unjust” way she was fired.

Sarah Drew was a guest on the Call It What It Is podcast , hosted by her former Grey’s Anatomy co-stars Camilla Luddington and Jessica Capshaw, and she discussed how she felt when she learned she’d be leaving the show at the end of Season 14, following nine years of playing April Kepner. She clarified her comment from around that time when she said it was like “attending your own funeral,” saying:

It’s clear that she’s still got some negative feelings about how her time on Grey’s Anatomy ended, but that hasn’t stopped her from making a couple of guest appearances. She returned in Season 17 amid Jesse Williams’ own exit as her on-off love interest Jackson Avery, and both Sarah Drew and Williams returned in the Season 18 finale, confirming to fans that Japril had reunited .

Guest-starring has been a completely different experience for Sarah Drew, as she continued:

She also spoke on the podcast about how the show — and April’s romance with Jackson Avery — changed the roles she was able to get hired for. Sarah Drew said:

Romantic leads are the only jobs keeping Sarah Drew busy since leaving Grey’s Anatomy , as she's also gotten into writing and executive producing. She even reunited with Justin Bruening , her ex-husband from the medical drama, for a Lifetime Christmas movie.

The actress was part of some of Grey’s Anatomy ’s best episodes after making her premiere in Season 6 (the “Mercy West Era” is one of the great places to start rewatching Grey’s Anatomy ). The way in which she was let go is pretty unfortunate, but it sounds like a return could always be in the cards — especially with her on-screen beau Jackson Avery already making an appearance in Season 21.

Tune in to find out if we’ll ever see April Kepner again, as new episodes of Grey’s Anatomy air at 10 p.m. Thursdays on ABC and can be streamed the next day with a Hulu subscription .