Entertainment Tonight

"Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes is commenting on the recent dismissal of actress Brooke Smith from the hit ABC show.

In an Entertainment Weekly article, Smith told the mag, "I was very excited when they told me that [my character] Erica and [Sara Ramirez's character] Callie were going to have this relationship."

She continues, "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."

For her part, Rhimes said in a statement to ET, "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."