"Grey's Anatomy" shocker: Brooke Smith, lesbian storyline out...

This is unelievable. Just when the lesbian storyline on "Grey's Anatomy" between Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) was taking off, Entertainment Weekly has broken the news that Smith will be gone from the show by the next episode.

Here's some of what Smith told EW's Michael Ausiello: "I was very excited when they told me that Erica and Callie were going to have this relationship. And I really hoped we were going to show what happens when two women fall in love and that they were going to treat it like any heterosexual couple on TV. And so I was surprised and disappointed when they just suddenly told me that they couldn't write for my character anymore."

I found out in mid-September soon after shooting the monologue that aired last week where Erica has the revelation that she's gay. They even came down and told me it was a great scene -- one of the best they ever shot on the show. So I was really, really shocked. I was floored when they told me [I was being let go]. It was the last thing I expected. In fact, when they told me I asked, "When is this happening?" And they said, "The [next episode] is your last," which is the one that airs this Thursday. So it was very sudden.
EW reports that the decision seemed to be ABC's and not so much that of show creator and executive producer Shondra Rhimes. It would be very surprising if that network got cold feet about the storyline in light of the "Brothers & Sisters" same sex storyline with Kevin and Scotty and the gay characters on "Ugly Betty."

Here's what Rhimes had to say in a statement: "Brooke Smith was obviously not fired for playing a lesbian. Clearly it's not an issue as we have a lesbian character on the show - Calliope Torres. Sara Ramirez is an incredible comedic and dramatic actress and we wanted to be able to play up her magic. Unfortunately, we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run. The impact of the Callie/Erica relationship will be felt and played out in a story for Callie. I believe it belittles the relationship to simply replace Erica with 'another lesbian.' If you'll remember, Cristina mourned the loss of Burke for a full season."