The Drama Behind Grey's Anatomy's Biggest Character Departures

In 2008, actress Brooke Smith was abruptly fired from the show. Many, including Smith herself, believed it was because ABC wasn't comfortable with featuring a lesbian relationship on the network. "They just suddenly told me that they couldn't write for my character anymore," she revealed. In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, she drove the point further. "Frankly, it was you that warned me this might happen on the red carpet back in July. You said [sometimes networks get cold feet] with gay relationships. And I was so naive. I'm like, 'It's 2008.'

Shonda Rhimes responded immediately to the claims: "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."