Jesse Williams Speaks Out on 'Grey's Anatomy' Exit, Will Leave Show Before End of Season 17

The producers of Grey’s Anatomy made the shocking announcement tonight that Jesse Williams will be leaving the show before the end of season 17 and now he has spoken out on the tough decision.

There are some spoilers included in this post, so beware of reading any further.

Jesse‘s character Jackson Avery revealed in tonight’s episode that he will be moving to Boston to take over the Catherine Fox Foundation for his mom, played by Debbie Allen.

Click inside for Jesse’s statement, plus more spoilers from the episode…

Sarah Drew returned as April in the episode. For those that don’t know, Jackson and April have been broken up for a long time, though they share a daughter. He went to her in the episode to ask her to move to Boston so he could still be close to their daughter. She revealed that she had split from her husband Matthew, which made the decision easier for her. April will be moving to Boston with Jackson, which also gives fans hope that they may reunite as a couple one day!

Jesse‘s final appearance on Grey’s will be in the May 20 episode.

“I will forever be grateful for the boundless opportunities provided me by Shonda [Rhimes], the network, studio, fellow cast mates, our incredible crew, Krista [Vernoff], Ellen [Pompeo] and Debbie [Allen],” Jesse said in his statement.

He continued, “As an actor, director and person, I have been obscenely lucky to learn so much from so many and I thank our beautiful fans, who breathe so much energy and appreciation into our shared worlds. The experience and endurance born of creating nearly 300 hours of leading global television is a gift I’ll carry always. I am immensely proud of our work, our impact and to be moving forward with so many tools, opportunities, allies and dear friends.”

Just a few months ago, Jesse shared his thoughts on when Grey’s would end.