‘[She] Needs to Be Slapped’: Grey’s Anatomy Star Wanted a Violent Season 21 Premiere

The new season of Grey's Anatomy hit the ground running with a heated altercation between Doctors Catherine Fox and Miranda Bailey. Actor Debbie Allen breaks down that scene, revealing she was the one who insisted on its sobering ending.

Audiences rooted for Dr. Miranda Bailey (played by Chandra Wilson) when she stood up to Dr. Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) during Grey's Anatomy's Season 21 premiere, which opened with Catherine berating and belittling the hospital's interns. The situation came to a head when she fired Miranda on the spot for chiming in; Catherine bit back with personal insults, prompting Miranda to slap her. Episode 1 sees Miranda dealing with the fallout and a sobering update on Catherine's condition. Fans agree Catherine is one of Grey's Anatomy's biggest villains; her increasingly overbearing attitude and worsening condition could be her unraveling. Allen told The Hollywood Reportershe insisted on that slap scene to make her character even more unlikeable.

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox stands on a staircase and speaks with a female doctor on Grey's Anatomy

Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey talks to Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Greg Germann as Tom Koracick talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery shares something on his phone with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox sits smiling at her desk on Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy Season 21 - Catherine Fox has a martini at the bar

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox stands on a staircase and speaks with a female doctor on Grey's Anatomy

Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey talks to Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Greg Germann as Tom Koracick talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery shares something on his phone with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox sits smiling at her desk on Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy Season 21 - Catherine Fox has a martini at the bar

Close

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox stands on a staircase and speaks with a female doctor on Grey's Anatomy

Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey talks to Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Greg Germann as Tom Koracick talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery shares something on his phone with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox sits smiling at her desk on Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy Season 21 - Catherine Fox has a martini at the bar

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox stands on a staircase and speaks with a female doctor on Grey's Anatomy

Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey talks to Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Greg Germann as Tom Koracick talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery shares something on his phone with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox sits smiling at her desk on Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy Season 21 - Catherine Fox has a martini at the bar

Close

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox stands on a staircase and speaks with a female doctor on Grey's Anatomy

Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey talks to Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Greg Germann as Tom Koracick talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery shares something on his phone with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox sits smiling at her desk on Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy Season 21 - Catherine Fox has a martini at the bar

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox stands on a staircase and speaks with a female doctor on Grey's Anatomy

Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey talks to Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Greg Germann as Tom Koracick talks with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

1905 Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery shares something on his phone with Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox on Grey's Anatomy

Debbie Allen as Catherine Fox sits smiling at her desk on Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy Season 21 - Catherine Fox has a martini at the bar

"It was my idea," she revealed. "How about that? It was totally my idea. I worked so closely with our showrunner, Meg Marinis. She is fantastic." Allen said the initial plan was to have Catherine deliver a pep talk after carving out Grey Sloan Memorial's staff in Season 20's finale, but Allen said her character deserves a reckoning. "We were kind of picking up where we left off last season, where I had fired everybody," she continued. "I was on one. And, so, she said, 'Well, I was thinking of her having this inspiring speech.' I said, 'Girl, don't nobody want to hear inspiration right now. Catherine needs to be slapped. She has acted so badly.'" Allen was all in with the angle, but no one from the show's cast wanted to do it.

Debbie Allen's Season 21 Slap Scene Almost Didn't Happen

"[Marinis] hesitated because nobody wants to slap me," Allen asserted. "I said, 'This is a great way for us to start the season, because everybody will be so curious about what's the fallout of that. How does that happen? What's next?' It was really fun shooting and Miss Chandra Wilson also did not want to slap me. She was like, 'I'm not slapping you, Debbie Allen' … It's become a really big kind of viral thing now. I guess it's a meme right now." Catherine only came to her own as Grey's Anatomy's new villain in Season 20, and Allen's efforts might be a push to make her character more dislikable or tragic, depending on how the show develops her story.

Allen confirmed Catherine is a vulnerable villain often misunderstood in the series. "In her heart of hearts, she cares about the hospital and its legacy," she said. "…But she wants things to be done with integrity. She's vulnerable, she's a cancer patient currently. You can be as badass as you want to, but there are some things that knock you down a little bit, and cancer could be one of them, that's for sure." Allen has reprised the character through 13 seasons of Grey's Anatomy; despite Catherine's current turn, she has more than earned the audience's empathy. "She's strong in her will to try to find her way through living with cancer and not bringing her family to the point of suffering with her," she continued. "…You kind of love her for her strength."

New episodes of Grey's Anatomy air Thursdays on ABC, with next-day streaming release on Hulu.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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