Both Eric Dane and the planned Grey’s Anatomy 20th anniversary tribute were missing from the 2025 Emmys.
Dane was scheduled to appear during Sunday’s awards show ceremony along with fellow presenter Jesse Williams for a segment celebrating 20 years of Shonda Rhimes’ long-running medical drama; however, Williams presented the award for Directing for a Drama Series on his own, and did not mention Dane or Grey’s Anatomy at all.
ABC
Representatives for Dane did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly‘s request for comment.
Dane originally debuted on season 2 of Grey’s Anatomy in 2006 as Dr. Mark Sloan, a.k.a. the legendary “McSteamy.” The plastic surgery “god” was the former best friend of Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), until he slept with Derek’s wife Addison (Kate Walsh). After starring on the show for six seasons, Dane left at the beginning of season 9 in 2012 when Mark died after season 8’s devastating plane crash. He returned nine years later for an appearance in season 17.
Last year, Dane, who recently revealed his ALS diagnosis, claimed that it wasn’t his decision to exit the medical drama.
“I didn’t leave so much as I think I was let go,” he admitted on an episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, saying he was “struggling” with drug and alcohol addiction at the time. “They didn’t let me go because of that,” he added, “although it definitely didn’t help.”
The actor, who has been open about his sobriety journey over the years, had been sober for “three or four years” before joining Grey’s Anatomy, but he relapsed during the 2007 writers’ strike.
“If you take the whole eight years I was on Grey’s Anatomy, I was f—ed up longer than I was sober,” he said, “and that was when things started going sideways for me.”
Dane then clarified that he was “probably fired” from the show due to financial reasons.
“I was starting to become, as most of these actors who have spent significant time on a show, you start to become very expensive for the network,” he said. “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 Grey, they’re fine. I wasn’t the same guy they had hired, so I had understood when I was let go.”
Mitch Haaseth/ABC
Still, Dane had only positive things to say about Grey’s creator.
“She protected us fiercely,” he recalled. “She protected us publicly, she protected us privately. I love Shonda Rhimes, and she protected me, but I was probably fired. It wasn’t ceremoniously like, ‘You’re fired.’ It was just like, ‘You’re not coming back.'”
Meanwhile, Williams starred as Dr. Jackson Avery for 12 seasons, beginning in season 6 through season 19 (he also stepped behind the camera to make his directorial debut in season 14).
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Jackson entered the story when Mercy West Medical Center merged with Seattle Grace Hospital, and he was desperate to prove that he was more than just a nepo baby (his grandfather was the legendary Harper Avery, of the Harper Avery Award). Mark took Jackson under his wing to form the Plastics Posse, and Jackson later took over as chief of the plastic surgery department.
While most character exits are explained by onscreen deaths, Jackson got a rare happy ending when he headed off to Boston to lead his family’s foundation and fight systemic racism in the medical field with April (Sarah Drew) — his former partner and the mother of his child — and their daughter by his side.
“We were able to really craft a departure for him that makes sense, that’s connected to his history,” Williams previously told Entertainment Weekly.
The 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by comedian Nate Bargatze, are broadcasting live on CBS from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Check out the list of Emmy winners.
See what Williams teased about his role in the upcoming series Hotel Costiera while speaking to Entertainment Weekly and PEOPLE on the red carpet:
