‘Grey’s Anatomy’s’ Chandra Wilson Addresses Rumors She’s Leaving The Medical Drama

After seeing the promo for tonight’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, fans of the show were shook. Dr. Miranda Bailey has a heart attack?! Does that mean… is Chandra Wilson leaving the show?! Crazier things have happened on Grey’s, and the cast’s turnover rate at this point is up there with that other long-running medical drama. It’s always possible Bailey is leaving the show, just like it’s always possible anyone is leaving the show.

But Bailey bailing out would be a big blow to the series, as she’s one of only four original cast members left (the others being Ellen Pompeo, Justin Chambers, and James Pickens, Jr.)! If you’re worried, don’t look to tonight’s episode synopsis to assuage your fears: “The stress of managing the hospital and coming to terms with Ben’s decision to become a Seattle firefighter pushes Bailey to her limits.”

Limits? Limits sounds like “death”! But is there really reason to be worried? Wilson addressed all this speculation head on in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “Let’s say Bailey has been stressed,” said Wilson with a laugh. “Is Bailey leaving? I think this is the right thing to say: Bailey’s been stressed and needs to take care of herself.”

Part of that stress has been dealing with her husband Ben (Jason George) deciding to become a firefighter, and George’s upcoming move to the Grey’s Anatomy firefighter spinoff Station 19. But while Wilson doesn’t reveal if Bailey’s going to die, she does say that tonight’s story is about more than just what people are speculating about.

“What we really wanted to talk about in this episode, especially for women, is heart disease, how it manifests, how much of a killer of women it is, and how to be taken seriously when you walk into an emergency room situation so that you can be properly diagnosed and properly treated,” said Wilson.

There’s also going to be a lot of attention paid to Bailey during the episode, Wilson teased, saying: “There are things that get revealed in this episode about Bailey’s upbringing that make you understand the person that you’ve been seeing since the pilot. Where she’s coming from, why she behaves the way she behaves, the kind of relationships that she has with her family, the kind of relationships she has with patients, the driven, professional woman that she is — you get a glimpse of where the seed of her comes from.”

Find out whether tonight is the final chapter in Dr. Bailey’s life when Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC.

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