A Grey’s Anatomy background actress is facing backlash after publicly airing her past issues with late actor Eric Dane following his passing.
Dane passed away on February 19 at age 53, nearly a year after he announced he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a terminal neurodegenerative disease.
He was best known for playing Dr. Mark Sloan, or “McSteamy,” in Grey’s Anatomy for six years, as well as Cal Jacobs in Euphoria.
Highlights
- Background actress Laura Ann Tull accused Eric Dane of bullying and claimed she got him fired from 'Grey’s Anatomy.'
- Tull described Dane as disrespectful towards disabled people and cancer survivors, saying his illness was "karma."
- Eric Dane, famous for 'Grey’s Anatomy' and 'Euphoria,' passed away at 53 from ALS.
A Grey's Anatomy actress has accused Eric Dane of being a "bully" after his passing
Image credits: Nathan Congleton/Getty Images
Following the news of his passing, many of his former co-stars posted touching tributes celebrating Dane’s work and the friendships they had built on set.
But a background actress in the medical drama drew attention after calling Dane a “bully and an a**hole” and claiming she had influenced his departure from the show.
Laura Ann Tull posted on Threads about her time working with Dane in response to a Variety announcement about his passing.
Image credits: Barry McDaniel/New Faces LA
Tull, who said she had worked on Grey’s for three years, claimed the actor mistreated her on set after she battled cancer and referred to his terminal illness as “karma.”
“He hated me because I said I love classical literature to a girl reading a Jane Austen novel on the set. He called me weird w/o even talking to me. Karma is a B,” she wrote.
“I only wish he’d apologized & admitted what he did. I am why he was fired from Grey’s.”
Laura Ann Tull claimed she worked as a background actress in the medical drama for three years
Image credits: lauraanntull
Tull alleged that she called an assistant to series creator Shonda Rhimes to report Dane’s alleged behavior, resulting in the actor’s termination two weeks later.
“I am why he was fired from Grey’s. I called Rhimes' assistant two weeks before they announced his termination. Rhimes I doubt will ever admit that,” she wrote.
In follow-up posts, she described Dane as “true evil” and accused him of “ab*sing cancer survivors & disabled people” like her.
Image credits: ABC
“He was a coward who ab*sed me. Bullied me. Made fun of me,” she continued, adding, “His dy*ng doesn’t change [the] destruction he caused me.”
Tull provided no evidence to support her claims against the late actor or her alleged role in his departure from the show.
On social media, many fans expressed skepticism about her comments and questioned her decision to voice her anger at the Euphoria star after his passing.
Tull called Dane a "coward" and a "narcissist" and claimed he made fun of her on set
Image credits: lauraanntull
Image credits: lauraanntull
“Saying this about someone who JUST d*ed from a horrible disease basically tells us all we need to know. There is no way that he was the problem here!” one person said.
“A background actress trying to get some clout off his d*ath smh,” echoed another.
"She was an extra for three years. She said she had never spoken to him. I very much doubt that he, a star of the show, left because she did not like him,” a third commented.
Another user called her posts “so nasty and unnecessary” given the timing, while someone else typed, “Seems like he was correct.”
Tull said her issues with Grey's Anatomy cast members ultimately led her to exit the show
Image credits: IMDb
On Threads, Tull also said Dane’s alleged actions caused her health issues and led to her having premature menopause. Additionally, she suggested that her supposed conflict with the actor is the reason she left the show.
The actress previously made similar accusations in a 2018 post on Medium. In the article, she said she never directly spoke to Dane on set, but that he had spoken negatively about her to others and called her “weird.”
Image credits: lauraanntull
“I worked on set of Grey’s Anatomy for three years as an extra, but I never spoke to Dane once directly,” she wrote. “But I did hear him talk about me.”
“I have the privilege of being told I am weird by a well known actor Eric Dane or at least Arrnie Starr who is an elected representative of Sag Aftra sent me an email telling me that is what Eric Dane said.”
The actress insisted that her accusations against Dane were valid despite his passing from ALS
Image credits: Barry McDaniel/New Faces LA
Tull said Patrick Dempsey, the lead male actor, “also seemed to comment about me.”
“I worked on a movie with him and he comments, ‘There she is again,’ and I was regulated to being on the street outside,” she claimed.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dane’s 2012 exit from Grey’s stemmed from budget and creative decisions, as long-running cast members like him were becoming more expensive for the network.
Image credits: lauraanntull
Image credits: lauraanntull
The late actor suggested that his struggles with painkiller dependency were not the main reason he was written off the ABC show, but that they “definitely didn’t help.”
Dane was introduced at the end of season two as a guest star but became a series regular the following season due to the positive reactions from fans.
In 2021, nine years after his last appearance, he briefly returned to the series when the protagonist, played by Ellen Pompeo, had a dream during a COVID-induced coma.
Eric Dane played surgeon Dr. Mark Sloan on Grey's Anatomy between 2006 and 2012
Image credits: ABC
In addition to Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria, Dane starred in the fantasy series Charmed, the crime series Countdown, and the action drama The Last Ship. He also appeared in films such as Marley & Me, Valentine's Day, Burlesque, and Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
He is survived by his two daughters, 15-year-old Billie and 14-year-old Georgia, whom he shared with his ex, Rebecca Gayheart.
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