{"id":21241,"date":"2026-07-29T19:36:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=21241"},"modified":"2026-07-29T19:36:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:36:41","slug":"sandra-oh-shares-rare-insight-into-her-greys-anatomy-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=21241","title":{"rendered":"Sandra Oh shares rare insight into her &#8216;Grey&#8217;s Anatomy&#8217; exit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F07%2F135865882.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Sandra Oh stands by her decision to quit <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/03\/25\/entertainment\/kevin-mckidd-kim-raver-leaving-greys-anatomy-after-season-22-finale\/\">\u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy\u201d<\/a> over a decade later. <\/p>\n<p>The actress <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CCWshHXZ0J4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">explained on Jesse Tyler Ferguson\u2019s \u201cDinner\u2019s On Me\u201d podcast<\/a> this week that she walked away from the ABC medical series after ten seasons in 2014 because she felt she fully fleshed out her beloved character, Dr. Cristina Yang.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen it came to end of season eight, or nine, [creator Shonda Rhimes] took me aside because we were all renegotiating and she goes, \u2018What do you want to do?\u2019\u201d Oh recalled. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Sandra Oh made rare comments about her exit from \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy\u201d on Jesse Tyler Ferguson\u2019s \u201cDinner\u2019s On Me\u201d podcast. <span class=\"credit\">Dinner&#8217;s On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson\/YouTube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Oh (seen above with Ferguson) said she quit the show because she felt she fully fleshed out her character, Dr. Cristina Yang. <span class=\"credit\">Dinner&#8217;s On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson\/YouTube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI said, \u2018Let me think about it.\u2019 And I really, really thought about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Oh, 55, acted on her gut feeling to leave the show despite its massive popularity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt very much like I did my job. I really did my job,\u201d she shared. \u201cI feel like I created a full character. I feel I grew the character [in] 10 years time, where it\u2019s a believable growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oh added, \u201cPeople grow in 10 years, and I think she really did grow.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Oh (seen above in the show) recalled that she \u201creally thought\u201d about her decision to leave the show. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9ABC\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Oh (pictured here) said: \u201cI felt very much like I did my job. I really did my job.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9ABC\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cristina was written off the show at the end of Season 10 after taking up a new job at her ex Preston Burke\u2019s (Isaiah Washington) advanced research institute in Switzerland.<\/p>\n<p>Oh said the \u201cbiggest privilege\u201d in her exit was that the writers were able to create a proper storyline that gave Cristina a satisfying send-off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I know that it is extremely rare to have,\u201d Oh noted. \u201cSo, that was a real, real gift.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Oh (seen above with Ellen Pompeo) said Cristina had \u201ca believable growth\u201d across ten seasons. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9ABC\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Oh (seen here with Kevin McKidd and Jessica Capshaw) also recalled that she walked out of her audition for the show because of her manager. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9ABC\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Earlier in the podcast, Oh spoke about how she originally auditioned for Chandra Wilson\u2019s role as Miranda Bailey, but when she heard about Cristina, she knew that was the part for her. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was like, \u2018That\u2019s it. That\u2019s the antagonist,\u2019\u201d Oh explained. \u201cClearly Meredith is the protagonist. That\u2019s the antagonist, at least in the pilot. And I\u2019m like, \u2018I wanna do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oh said her audition involved \u201ca work session\u201d that helped her shrug off her \u201cjitters\u201d and prove to Rhimes, 56, and the producers that she was right for the job. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>However, the show\u2019s creative team still cast Oh (seen here) as Cristina. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9ABC\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Oh (pictured above) said she chose to play Cristina after auditioning to play Miranda Bailey. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9ABC\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Page Six Daily\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But things took a turn when Oh\u2019s manager demanded the actress walk out of the audition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy manager said, \u2018Leave.\u2019 Marsha said, \u2018Leave. Leave. We can\u2019t close your deal,&#8217;\u201d Oh recalled. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I was just like, \u2018Oh, okay. I guess I\u2019m supposed to leave. Bye-bye.\u2019 And then so I left, and I did not audition for the network.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Oh (pictured here) said she knew she was the right fit to play Cristina. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9ABC\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>\u201cThat\u2019s the antagonist, at least in the pilot. And I\u2019m like, \u2018I wanna do that,&#8217;\u201d Oh said. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, the show\u2019s creative team didn\u2019t give up on Oh and \u201cjust cast\u201d her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s because I had that work session,\u201d Oh explained. \u201cSo they could see what I could do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added, \u201cAnd that\u2019s all that mattered was that Shonda, Betsy [Beers] and Peter [Horton] could see what I was and see what I could do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sandra Oh stands by her decision to quit \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy\u201d over a decade later. The actress explained on Jesse Tyler Ferguson\u2019s \u201cDinner\u2019s On Me\u201d podcast this week that she walked away from the ABC medical series after ten seasons in 2014 because she felt she fully fleshed out her beloved character, Dr. Cristina Yang. \u201cWhen&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/135865882.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}