"Grey's Anatomy" sends a lesbian packing

Another network TV queer character bites the dust: Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello reports that Brooke Smith, who's been playing newly-lesbian Dr. Erica Hahn, has been abruptly cut from the roster at Grey's Anatomy.

Smith, also known for her work in such films as Silence of the Lambs and Vanya on 42nd St., told Ausiello that her firing was sudden and surprising: "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."

Smith went on to tell Ausiello that the character of Erica wasn't even written off the show — she gets into a car at the end of the episode, and that's it. 

While Smith feels that ABC was nervous about the show's lesbian content, Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes sent Ausiello a statement saying that the show remains committed to Sara Ramirez's bisexual-lesbian-it-depends character, Dr. Callie Torres, and that Smith was let go so that the show could find another actress who could create more "magic and chemistry" with Ramirez.

Grey's Anatomy is no stranger to queer content, from the GLAAD Award–winning episode about bartender Joe and his boyfriend to the scorching man-on-man kiss featured in the episode about the gay Iraq vet. Granted, Rhimes was seen as shilly-shallying over the whole Isaiah Washington "faggot" controversy, but she did finally comandeer and settle that situation.

So we'll believe you when you say you're looking for another actress to create some sizzle with your remaining lesbian character, Ms. Rhimes. But now we're waiting. (For more details, check out our sister site's coverage of Smith's firing.)