How do you solve a problem like Katherine Heigl?

"I would put her [character] in a coma," deadpanned Ugly Betty's Silvio Horta in a Q&A panel with the showrunners of ABC's Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters and Lost.

The questions about Katherine Heigl didn't stop, though. A reluctant Shonda Rhimes finally admitted to a roomful of critics that she was "surprised" but "didn't feel insulted" by Heigl's public criticism of the show. Last month, Heigl released a statement saying she would drop out of the Emmy race because she "did not feel that [she] was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination."

"I actually have a really wonderful working relationship with Katherine, and everyone knows that Izzie is one of my favorite characters," Rhimes said. "But Katie is an outspoken person."

In addition, Rhimes said, Heigl had requested that she write her character "light" in the second half of the season so that she could do the movie 27 Dresses.

The upcoming season of Grey's will feature a prominent Izzie storyline -- which some reports have speculated ends in her demise -- as well as continued exploration of the budding relationship between doctors Callie and Erica.

"We have a really interesting and funny way of laying out the story of Callie and Erica, which is not necessarily the typical way of dealing with a storyline," Rhimes said. "We sat down with GLAAD and talked about women who realize they're lesbians later in life."

Grey's Anatomy returns to ABC Oct. 9.

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