EW.com is reporting that Grey’s Anatomy star Brooke Smith, who plays Dr. Erica Hahn, has been fired from Grey’s Anatomy.

Brooke Smith’s departure is so sudden, that this Thursday’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy wll be her last.

Naturally, rumors have been swirling that Brooke Smith was let go because of the lesbian relationship between Dr. Erica Hahn and Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez).

ABC apparently “had issues with both the explicit direction Callica (Callie and Erica) was taking and, more importantly, with the Hahn character in general.”

Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes said the decision was not due to the character being gay, but the order came down from the network.

In the EW.com article, Brooke Smith says she was “surprised and disappointed when they just suddenly told me that they couldn’t write for my character anymore.”

Shonda Rhimes made this comment:
“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.”