Grey’s Anatomy has had a revolving door of characters come on since the beginning. As the show continued its success all the way up to their current season 19, they have been left with a handful of the original cast that continue to call Grey-Sloan Memorial their home. Through the years, characters on Grey’s Anatomy have gone through their share of rough patches, and no one seems to be safe from having a calamity befall them. Some characters were able to get through their hardships with minimal damage (both emotional and physical), while others were criticized for how they handled it.
Criticisms came for characters like Dr. Izzy Stevens who had an inappropriate relationship with one of her patients. Others were for some of the surgeons who were flat-out cold and rude to their fellow co-workers, which made fans of the show happy when they left. Some doctors received criticism from the choices they made in their personal life, like Teddy Altman who left audiences annoyed that she would even make that choice in the first place. So, which characters received the most criticisms throughout its 19 seasons? Here are the most criticized characters in Grey’s Anatomy, ranked.
7 Meredith Grey
Screen Rant describes Meredith Grey as a fan favorite on the show and that most audience members believe she can do no wrong. However, being a fan favorite doesn't come without its criticisms. One of the biggest complaints fans of Grey's Anatomy have about Meredith is her relationship with Derek. Some claim that she brought him down and was unable to compromise with him during their marriage. When Derek was given the job of lifetime in Washington, Meredith refused to go with him and was not willing to compromise her career for his.
6 Owen Hunt
Owen Hunt specializes in trauma surgery, but for some fans of Grey's Anatomy, he specializes in gaslighting every woman he becomes romantically involved with. Owen married and divorced both Cristina Yang and Amelia Sheppard while he had an emotional relationship with Teddy Altman. He is also emotionally abusive towards all three of the women he is romantically attached to as he likes to control them. Owen acts like a child when things don't go his way and can be seen yelling and stomping out the room. Needless to say, fans were not sad to see him go.
5 Alex Karev
Alex Karev quickly became the fan favorite pediatrics doctor, but his temper and personal grudges tended to hold him back. When he first came on Grey's Anatomy, Cheat Sheet details how Alex was rude and often misogynistic towards his women co-workers. A good example of this was when he humiliated Dr. Izzie Stevens by plastering her modeling photos all over the locker room. He continued to hurt Izzie after he won her over, only to cheat on her with a nurse. Alex hit a new low when he said that the only reason he and Izzie got married was because they thought she would be dead. However, it wasn't only women co-workers that Alex had a problem with. He had a feud with George and was often times jealous of his skills.
4 Izzie Stevens
Grey's Anatomy arguably went too far when they had Dr. Izzie Stevens became romantically involved with one of her patients, Denny Duquette. This is an ethical line that no doctor would ever cross as they take an oath when they entered the profession. Although this is a relationship most fans root for, Izzie does a lot of questionable things to make sure he gets a heart. Denny signs a Do Not Resuscitate order, which then makes her take matters into her own hands. Izzie disconnects a tube to the machine that continues to make his heart pump because she knew that an emergency would get him a heart faster. Even through all of this, Denny still dies after receiving the heart Izzie tried so hard to get for him.
3 Andrew DeLuca
Andrew DeLuca is the dreamy Italian doctor who enters Grey-Sloan Memorial as an intern. He quickly becomes a fan favorite surgeon and another love interest for Meredith Grey. Dr. DeLuca fights for his patients and his fellow surgeons, and goes as far as taking the blame for Meredith when she commits insurance fraud. Fans criticized his involvement in this plot-line as it didn't seem believable for DeLuca to take any part in Meredith's scandal. A lot of avid Grey's Anatomy watchers said she could have done the surgery pro-bono instead of risking a felony charge and possibly losing her license.
2 Tom Koracick
Tom Koracick was seen as clever and sarcastic, and a great surgeon. However, he received the most hate for being obnoxious, morally gray, and trying to get in-between everyone's favorite couple, Owen Hunt and Teddy Altman. He also seemed arrogant during his time on Grey's Anatomy. Tom was meant to be what the other doctors weren't at Grey-Sloan, which was morally dubious and questionable at best. Even though these traits were annoying to some fans (and praised among others), Cinema Blend says that Tom still found a way to make his return in the latest season of Grey's Anatomy.
1 Teddy Altman
Teddy Altman became a vital role at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital. She turned into a mentor for Dr. Cristina Yang, who later became the powerhouse of Grey's Anatomy. Teddy left the show for a while and then came back in season 14 with some unfavorable responses. When she came back, she became romantically involved with Owen Hunt, and their relationship was rather dramatic and volatile. Fans consistently point out that Teddy was making poor relationship and career choices. She even cheats on Owen with Dr. Tom Koracick, making an unnecessary love triangle in the show. Since her return, fans see a completely new side of Teddy that they aren't used to and hope they see her former self appear on the show yet again.