Patrick Dempsey Uses Iconic ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Line to Encourage People to Wear Masks

Patrick Dempsey is channeling his Grey’s Anatomy counterpart Dr. Derek Shepherd to encourage people to wear masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, the former star of the popular ABC medical drama took to Instagram to share a picture of himself rocking a black and white face covering, which he aptly captioned with a now-famous line from his character, “It’s a Beautiful Day to Save Lives.”

Unsurprisingly, the post drew a slew of reactions from fans, who have uttered that line countless times on their own. One person jokingly wrote that their “heart stopped” after seeing Dempsey’s post, while another said that Dempsey stepping back into the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd and returning to Grey’s Anatomy, something that is unlikely to happen given the fate his character met, would mean that “2020 would be saved.” Somebody else dubbed the post “perfect internet content,” and a fourth said that it was “good to see you wearing a mask again!”

In recent days, Dempsey has been making a push to have his followers jump on the mask-wearing bandwagon. On Saturday, just two days before his mask-wearing post, the actor shared a Politico video of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the White House’s top doctor on the coronavirus task force, speaking on the importance of everyone doing their part to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, including wearing face coverings when in public and practicing social distancing.

Sharing the post, Dempsey pleaded with his fans to “please, please listen to what he is saying” and encouraged his followers to “take a few minutes to watch this and really pay attention.” He said that “we can make this go away” and that “we are all in this together…but we have to be mindful and support each other.” Dempsey again asked his followers to “wear a mask please.”

Masks and face coverings have arisen as a controversial aspect of the coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all people wear cloth face coverings when in public and in places where “social distancing measures are difficult to maintain,” such as grocery stores and pharmacies. The coverings, the CDC says, help “to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.” Vice President Mike Pence also recently encouraged Americans to wear masks, and several cities have mandated residents to wear such coverings. Despite these recommendations, however, now-viral moments have shown people refusing to do so, leading to tense confrontations.