The internet had questions – and Shonda Rhimes had answers.
After fans noticed that Eric Dane was missing from the 2026 Oscars In Memoriam segment, the Grey’s Anatomy creator addressed the chatter in the most Rhimes was possible: honest, a little blunt, and oddly comforting.
Speaking at Vanity Fair’s Oscar Party on March 15, Rhimes didn’t sugarcoat it.
“Well, he’s not a movie star,” she told ET.
That might sting – but she quickly put it into perspective.
“I feel like when the Emmys come around, he will be immortalized the way he should be,” she added.
“You can’t fault the Oscars for the fact they’re looking at movies, and there were so many people who are lost. Eric was unique to television and I can’t wait to see what they (Emmys) do with him.”
Fair point… but fans are still side-eyeing the Academy.
Dane, who passed away at the age of 53 on February 19, may have had films credits like X-Men: The Last Stand and Marley & Me, but let’s be real — he was Grey’s Anatomy Dr Mark Sloan McSteamy. A whole era.
And Rhimes made it clear his impact went far beyond the screen.
“He was an incredible human being, and I still say is because it’s very hard for me to believe he’s gone.”
“He was an incredible human being and he was a huge loss for us,” she continued. “He was a huge loss for the Shondaland family, for the Grey’s Anatomy family, and honestly, the people that he knew, he was just a wonderful, wonderful, giving guy that I don’t know that everybody understands how amazing he was.”
The Oscar may have skipped him – but his legacy is not going anywhere.
