"Arrow" season 4 is currently facing a huge backlash after the creators decided to kill off Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy).
Following the character's death, some viewers started speculating that she was killed off primarily because fans weren't drawn to Laurel of her alter ego the Black Canary.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Marc Guggenheim dished as to whether or not there's some truth to the rumors.
"When I say it gives us a lot of pop I don't mean on the Internet or publicity, I mean creatively for the show. Every time we've killed off a character on the show, it's really been for the effect it has on all the characters left behind. I don't want to spoil the end of season 4 or what we have planned for season 5, which we're already in the room working on, but the way we always describe it is creative math," he said.
Meanwhile, Guggenheim said that he and the creators of the show are all ready for the backlash that they have received ever since last week's episode.
"We knew it would engage a lot of people. We're not immune to the shipping and we're not immune to the Internet controversy -- wait a minute, I mean we're not blind to it. We've never made decisions on the show creatively because of the Internet," he said.
In other news, Guggenheim also explained why they decided to kill off Laurel when in the comic books, Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) and Laurel actually end up together.
"In the comics, Dinah Lance and Oliver Queen, depending on which version of the character you like, are in a romance together in various iterations. That, to some people, is considered canonical and iconic, and we respect that, but at the same time we've always made no bones about the fact that we are telling our own version of Green Arrow mythos," he explained.
In the upcoming episode of "Arrow" season 4, Team Arrow will be attending Laurel's funeral. Also present at the sad occasion is Laurel's parents.
"Arrow" season 4, episode 19 will air on The CW on April 27 at 9 p.m. ET.