Ellen Pompeo saddened by fan backlash post Shepherd's death

"Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo wanted to protect show creator Shonda Rhimes after she was criticised for killing off Patrick Dempsey's character.
The hunky actor's alter ego Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd was written out of the hit medical drama last year, in a shock storyline which left many fans angry and upset.
While Pompeo, 46, also mourned the loss of her on-screen husband, she didn't agree with the way some fans hit out at Shonda for killing off the dishy doctor, reported Entertainment Weekly.
"I completely understood their anger, angst, and pain. Nobody wanted to lose Patrick - everybody knew how valuable he was to the show. What upset me was how Shonda was attacked. I felt pretty protective of her in that moment and I was pretty disappointed that she got the blame for something that really wasn't her fault at all," Pompeo said.

The actress went on to explain how Shonda had no choice but to kill off Derek, as the character leaving the show in any other way would not have been a true reflection of his love for her character, Meredith.
"Then that love story is ruined. And fans are always going to want him to come back, so I was just disappointed in the hate that Shonda got.
"It wasn't a choice that we had. We both signed a two-year contract to renew, so it was a situation that came up very abruptly and nobody expected it to happen," she said.