Killing off Patrick Dempsey's character on "Grey's Anatomy" might cost the show in the face of the alleged boycott by fans. Meanwhile, co-stars expressed their sadness about McDreamy's demise but excited for Meredith's future.

An online petition published by Courtney Williams on Change.org demanded that Shonda Rhimes should bring back Patrick Dempsey to the show.

"When you killed Lexie, it was tragic, cried for days!!!" she wrote. "But we let you have that one.. THEN you kill off McSteamy! LORDT! We STILL let you have that one... but the third strike.. this is the third and final strike! You can NOT DO THIS TO US! You do NOT KILL off 50% of Mer-Der! You DO NOT!"

"You do not have someone survive a mass murderer, a plane crash, A FREAKING PLANE CRASH, AND A crushed hand, as a neurosurgeon...just to kill them off on a BEAUTIFUL DAY!! Seriously? SERIOUSLY SHONDA?! SERIOUSLY MS. RHIMES!?!?!?!?!"

The online petition to bring back Patrick Dempsey to "Grey's Anatomy" already gathered 70,000 supporters.

It's been reported that Patrick Dempsey and Shonda Rhimes have been constantly bickering on the set because of his alleged diva behavior. Finally, the showrunner decided to kill him off.

Meanwhile, Sarah Drew told People magazine that Patrick Dempsey's leaving "Grey's Anatomy" is "so sad."

"McDreamy's such a part of our family, and he really created the energy of that show, she said.

"We're so sad to see him gone, but we're really happy for Patrick, and we know that we don't have to actually mourn him because we know that he's actually still with us."

For his part, Jesse Williams said that even with Patrick Dempsey leaving, McDreamy remains part of the set.

"We've only done maybe two episodes without him, and he very much feels kind of present, and looms large, as he should. So we'll find out next year, I think," the actor added.