"Disrespectful": Grey's Anatomy fans miffed after Richard Flood exit rumors grab headlines

In the upcoming episode of Grey's Anatomy, a series regular will leave the ABC medical drama.

Grey's Anatomy returned to ABC for Season 18's midseason premiere on February 25. According to Deadline, actor Richard Flood, who portrays pediatric surgeon Dr Cormac Hayes, will be leaving the show in Episode 10.

Flood debuted as a supporting character on Grey's Anatomy in Season 16 and was promoted to a series regular the following season.

Hayes' story arc was supposed to set him up as a prospective love interest for Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), but the COVID-19 epidemic put a stop to that.

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Twitter fans furious with news about Doctor Hayes leaving Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy went on its winter break last year after ending Episode 8 on a major cliffhanger, one of the biggest yet offered by the show.

Three doctors go to retrieve a heart for a child from a donor when they get into an accident, which results in a car hanging from a cliff. Dr Owen Hunt and Dr Richard Hayes shared a pivotal moment of exchanging gratitude before the hanging car took down the former.

While memes from shows like The Office, Euphoria, Lucifer, and Spongebob Squarepants have been doing the rounds on Twitter to display their dismay, fans are not happy about distorting the storyline of the beloved pediatric surgeon this way.

While the promo for Episode 10 shows a battered and bruised Owen Hunt talking to Teddy Altman, there is no sign of Hayes, who previously came out of the accident alive.

After Episode 9 aired on February 25, speculation started swirling that Hayes might be leaving the show after only three seasons.

Fans on Twitter have furiously taken to rebuking show-writer and executive producer Krista Vernoff, calling this move of writing Dr Hayes off extremely "disrespectful" and not what they had expected from the beloved show after eighteen seasons.

While Meredith Grey's best friend Cristina Yang sent this surgeon from Poland as a possible love interest to her friend, fans have been swooning over their mutual chemistry.

Though their love angle was destroyed due to Meredith's ill health caused by the raging pandemic, they were on the verge of becoming very good friends, and fans conveyed how they would miss them both together.

While fans on Twitter have taken to bidding Dr Hayes a heartbreaking farewell from their beloved show, there is still space for a silver lining, according to them.

While the position of Pediatric surgeon is now empty on the show with Hayes gone, showrunners might bring back beloved pediatric surgeons Dr Arizona Robbins and Dr Alex Karev to Grey's Anatomy for a new beginning.