"Grey's Anatomy" is very much an ensemble drama, but at the end of the day, the show is about the titular Grey - Meredith Grey played by Ellen Pompeo. So when fans petitioned for the show to resurrect Meredith's husband Derek Shepherd a.k.a. McDreamy, who died at the end of last season, it hurt Pompeo personally because they believed the show couldn't survive without him.
"Let's keep it really real for a second and say this is really difficult for my ego," the 45-year-old actress admitted to Entertainment Weekly. "It's okay! We all have one!"
The upcoming 12th season of "Grey's Anatomy" will be the first without Patrick Dempsey and his McDreamy character. His character was killed in a car accident in the penultimate episode of last season.
His inclusion on the season 11 poster also irritated Pompeo who sees Kerry Washington and Viola Davis able to carry their own Shonda Rhimes' shows without their "Scandal" and "How to Get Away with Murder" characters needing a man by their side.
"It's like, Annalise Keating carries the show, Olivia Pope carries the show," she said. "But somehow, Meredith Grey needs someone. Why can't I just be the lead of the show the way Annalise and Olivia can? Why can't I be on that poster by myself?"
Rhimes has backed up her star actress from the beginning, quickly defending the show's choice to kill off Dempsey's character last spring and again last month at the Television Critic's Association press tour. During last season, Meredith had already begun to realize how she didn't need Derek in her life to feel fulfilled.
"When Cristina said [Derek is not 'the sun'], Meredith realized that she had been taking a back seat to allow this man to get what he wanted," Rhimes told EW. "In an effort not to become her mother, she had tried too hard to become something less. What I loved about season 11 was her saying, That's not who I am."
"Grey's Anatomy" will return on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
