Patrick Dempsey Is or Is Not Leaving ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Patrick Dempsey, better known to single cat-owning women as McDreamy on Grey’s Anatomy, will take his lush mane of hair and leave the show after the 2011-12 season. Or he won’t, I don’t really give a sh*t.

Dempsey told the Italian edition of Vanity Fair that he won’t return to Grey’s Anatomy after next season. “It will be my last,” Dempsey said. “I don’t know what will happen with the other characters, but for me, it’s done.”

That sounds pretty clear to us. But Dempsey’s rep says he was only referring to his contract being up after next season and it’s uncertain what he will do next: “He was referring to the fact that his contract is up at the end of next season and we have no idea what the future holds.” [EW]

On instinct, I’m trained to believe that any statement from a PR rep denying anything is a baldfaced lie, but in this case I side with Dempsey. I’m assuming he gave his answer in English, which was then translated into Italian for the article, which was then translated back into English. Anyone who’s ever used Babelfish knows that what he originally said may as well have been the plot of a sci-fi novel as described by a five-year-old with Down syndrome.