‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Alum Loretta Devine Thinks She Knows Why Adele Was Killed Off

“Grey’s Anatomy” previously said goodbye to Adele Webber (Loretta Devine). The character suffered from a heart attack after undergoing surgery to treat her Alzheimer’s. Now Devine is sharing her theory on why she thinks her character was killed off from the hit ABC drama.

While speaking on People’s “Couch Surfing,” Devine hilariously remarked that after she received an Emmy for the Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series, the people behind the show decided to kill off her character. The award-winning actress said that it must have been cast member Debbie Allen’s fault.

Allen officially joined “Grey’s Anatomy” two years before Devine’s character was killed off. The former plays the role of Dr. Catherine Avery, the wife of Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) and the mom of Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams).

Devine also said that “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes used Catherine to explain what happened to her character. Adele was previously married to Richard. And while Adele was fighting for her dear life at the hospital, Richard and Catherine hooked up.

Devine’s exit from “Grey’s Anatomy” before Allen’s casting wasn’t the first time that the same situation happened for the actors. A similar thing happened when they were cast in “Dreamgirls.”

“Debbie Allen came over, took over that, then I was gone,” Devine said. “Then she came over there to ‘Grey's Anatomy,’ took over that, then I was gone. I was at ‘The Client List’ and they said Debbie Allen was coming in to direct, I got scared as hell,” she added.

But at the end of the day, Devine said that she actually loves Allen. She was just sharing the true story of what happened between them.

Meanwhile, the upcoming 16th season of “Grey’s Anatomy” will premiere on Sept. 26. Showrunner Krista Vernoff recently told TV Line that she’s been trying to get a former cast member to return to the series.

There are rumors that Sara Ramirez, Katherine Heigl or Sandra Oh could return. Ramirez played the role of Callie Torres, while Heigl portrayed the role of Izzie Stevens. Oh was one of the most memorable characters in the series. She played the role of Cristina Yang.