Last chance for Dempsey? Grey’s Anatomy fans launch petition to bring Dr. McDreamy back

After Patrick Dempsey’s Dr. Derek Shepherd was killed of on Grey’s Anatomy last week, one fan launched a petition at Change.org to bring him back that has collected over 67,000 signatures.

Change.org petition

In the emotional episode last week, Maine native Patrick Dempsey’s decade-long run as Shepherd came to an end as the character was hit in a car crash after saving four other lives, leaving his wife to decide to take him off life support.

Fan Courtney Williams from Snellville, Georgia writes:

This is important because you cannot have people invest a DECADE into a character and then you just terminate them like that!  You have people out here donating blood and organs trying to save lives, wanting to become doctors and all from committing to this television show..just to let us down like this.  You’ve destroyed us. COMPLETELY!

Dempsey, 49, is one of the best-known Mainers in popular culture, along with the likes bestselling author Stephen King and award-winning actress Anna Kendrick.

But it doesn’t look like the actor is coming back to the show.

“It’s been a remarkable ride,” the actor told the website TVLine. “The worldwide impact has been extraordinary. It is incredible how devoted and passionate the fans are and I will forever be grateful and humbled by the experience.”

After the episode on Thursday, ABC released a statement of its own addressing Dempsey’s departure:

After 11 seasons on Grey’s Anatomy, Patrick Dempsey is moving on to pursue other interests. Dr. Derek Shepherd is an iconic character and we’ve been proud to be the home of ‘McDreamy’ and the ‘Mer/Der’ love story. The devotion of Grey’s fans throughout the years has been a testament to the creative mind of Shonda Rhimes and Dempsey’s talent. ‘McDreamy’ will be greatly missed and we wish Patrick the very best in his future endeavors.

Read the whole petition on Change.org.