06/21/2007
Isaiah Washington Says T.R. Knight Should Have Been Fired
The Grey's Anatomy Isaiah Washington saga is not over yet.
In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Washington, whose contract with Grey's Anatomy was not renewed after an eight month brouhaha over his use of the word "faggot", accuses T.R. Knight of lying when he told Ellen Degeneres in January that "Washington used the slur against him and that 'everyone (on the set) heard it.'"
Says Washington: "That's a lie. I used the word during a disagreement with Patrick. I apologized for that. We shook hands and went back to work."
According to the paper, "Washington said Knight, who plays Dr. George O'Malley, stirred up the notion that the slur was targeted at him and created a negative work environment. Washington also alleged that Knight likely wanted a salary increase and a more substantive role for his character."
Washington, who said he may file a lawsuit, suggests that Knight should have been fired instead of him: "They fired the wrong guy. I have to clear my name. I'll start from the beginning. I'm telling everything. So here's the truth....My livelihood, my honor and dignity and my name have been so challenged...I was not fired for making homophobic slurs. I did everything I said I would do. I offered to go to counseling, to do a public service announcement. I wanted everyone to know I was remorseful."
The actor characterized his feelings as disappointment, not anger, and said there were three mistakes he made: "believing the cast of Grey's Anatomy were like family; believing I had the freedom to express myself with family and that we could resolve our issues; and trusting ABC was going to take care of me."
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Washington also recently compared his tribulations to those of Malcolm X: "Maybe for 50 years and the history of media and television I represent something that's supposed to not exist. This happened to Malcolm X, this happened to Paul Robeson -- this misconception can happen to any man of power that loves himself and wants to spread that love and that humanity throughout the world."
Grey's star says they fired the wrong guy [houston chronicle]
Posted 8:05 AM EST by Andy Towle in Gay Slurs, Isaiah Washington, News, T.R. Knight, Television | Permalink
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He's just an idiot. Hopefully he will keep talking, so this will have an impact on his career.
Posted by: Cadence | Jun 21, 2007 11:12:54 AM
Um, who are these people and why do i care.
Actually, i don't.
Posted by: malcolm | Jun 21, 2007 11:20:33 AM
Wow, holy paranoia and persecution!
I would have been fine with his apology for the first time this happened. He would have learned where his boundaries were with his "family". It was his REPEATING the word, at a public event, that turned the tide for him.
The other deal is this: IW has been a pain on "Grey's Anatomy" since day one. This was not the first time that an issue with IW had come up, just the most high-profile one. If you or I had a performance problem, and after repeated counselings at our jobs didn't shape up, we'd be let go.
It may be a sensitive environment that we can't say the "F-word", but hopefully it's a sign of racial harmony that someone can be fired from their job because of performance issues, REGARDLESS of race.
Posted by: Patrick | Jun 21, 2007 11:21:17 AM
"He should be able to sue, and will most likly win."
Really? On what grounds?
On what planet?
Batshit Crazy doesn't begin to describe him.
His next line of dramatic dialogue will doubtless be "Do you want fries with that?'
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | Jun 21, 2007 11:29:27 AM
despite the bruhaha over his comments and yes they were bad, but to simply take t.r.'s word for it is just as bad as taking isaiah's because nobody was there to know what really happened. i agree that knight is playing the victim role to the max. I do believe washington has a legitimate beef if abc gave him reason to believe that if he did what they asked they would allow him to remain on the show. If the intent behind not renewing his contract was to go back on abc's promise to let him remain on the show, then he should sue. sorry, but that's crummy and has nothing to do with knight at all. he should be able to have his day in court or whatever. it goes beyond t.r. and his hurt feeling.
Posted by: Leo | Jun 21, 2007 11:35:32 AM
So he says, "I was not fired for making homophobic slurs." Then what does he claim is the reason for his contract not being renewed?
NOW he's going to try to play the race card? On a show that is as multicultural as Grey's Anatomy??? On a show that was created by a black woman????????
At this point, I don't even care if he was using the F-word directly about TR or not. He used the word, but he seems to have absolutely no remorse for it, nor any concept that he is wrong.
The man is a total douchebag.
Posted by: Gregg | Jun 21, 2007 11:38:59 AM
He can't sue for wrongful termination since he wasn't fired. His contract wasn't renewed. Granted it's basically the same thing, same outcome, but... it's different.
Yay legal system!
Boo Isaiah Washington
Posted by: Harrison | Jun 21, 2007 11:40:48 AM
There were plenty of people there, Leo. They all heard what he said. And that's why T.R. Knight came out as he did. He knew it was going to hit the papers in nanoseconds and he wanted to be ahead of the story -- not its roadkill.
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | Jun 21, 2007 11:46:38 AM
OT to Goldend:
If you view this page with Explorer, you will see all the comments text in capital letters.
Switch to Firefox and the comments appear normally.
I have no idea why, just wanted to share an observation.
Posted by: Chris | Jun 21, 2007 11:46:55 AM
Matthew Rettenmund, I think the Robeson & X comparison Washington made would be offensive if it weren't so ludicrous. I'm not sure that won't change; check back later in the day & I may have changed my mind.
However, I think you're completely off base with your comparison of Washington to OJ Simpson. I'm thinking more along the lines of Homer Simpson - buffoon, cartoonish. Except of course, that no matter what Homer says or does in front of his family, he always learns a lesson from his life experiences and is man enought to admit that he was wrong...that and after weathering a dozen years on TV we know Homer's got a heart the size of Springfield.
Posted by: basis4insanity | Jun 21, 2007 11:48:08 AM
White Gays should learn more about racism. Washington's comments were certainly homophobic and he should not have said them, but it does not exempt the white gay establishment from its racism. let's be honest here folks
Posted by: Ally | Jun 21, 2007 11:49:07 AM
I remember a documentary that was made a few years back where the documentarian would ask felons who had murdered or physically harmed gays why they did it. The answer generally was because they thought society wouldn't punish them for crimes against gays. T.R. Knight is showing the same kind reaction by saying "believing the cast of Grey's Anatomy were like family; believing I had the freedom to express myself with family and that we could resolve our issues; and trusting ABC was going to take care of me." And now he's shocked they didn't support him. Mr. Washington is definitely out of touch. Also, didn't it come out that he had major anger issues in other acting positions?
Posted by: woodroad34 | Jun 21, 2007 11:50:49 AM
Actually I meant to say "Isaiah is showing the same kind of reaction..."
Posted by: woodroad34 | Jun 21, 2007 11:53:19 AM
California is an employment-at-will state. An employee can quit or be fired at any time for any reason.
I.W. has no rights when it comes to his employment. He had a contract. In that contract, the producers of the show had the discretion to renew the contract or not. For whatever reason.
Look at the reactions and behavior of the cast members outside of the directly involved, i.e. other than TR, IW and PD, and read between the lines. I.W. is a major-league a-hole. And no one wants to work with one of those.
Posted by: Chris | Jun 21, 2007 11:54:40 AM
david, could you point me to some link in which the cast members individually comment on hearing or not hearing the remark? all i ever heard was the blond chick (t.r. is my bestest bestest friend) saying something. did dempsey speak? sandra oh? i am sure the blond chick is going to protect her friend...i would too. in any event, i have said the remark was bad, but i guess we differ where it went from there.
Posted by: leo | Jun 21, 2007 11:56:53 AM
If T.R. has gotten into a fight with Patrick Dempsey and said, "Fuck off, I'm not your fucking n***** like Isaiah", would anyone be surprised if T.R. was fired? No.
Would anyone think that homophobia was at the root of it? No.
Sometimes, when bad things happen to someone who's gay, it's not because of homophobia - the bad things are the negative consequences of that individual's bad behavior.
Sometimes, when bad things happen to someone who's black, it's not because of racism - the bad things are the negative consequences of that individual's bad behavior.
Posted by: Chris | Jun 21, 2007 12:01:48 PM
Well said, Chris.
Posted by: r | Jun 21, 2007 12:11:56 PM
Mark, on what grounds can he sue? ABC didn't renew his contract, there is no law that says they had to. As someone mentioned, he really wasn't fired. But, ABC would still be right if they did fire him, since he is guilty of creating a hostile work environment.
Posted by: Cadence | Jun 21, 2007 12:13:49 PM
Is he trying to play the race card? Doesn't he know the gay card always trumphs the race card?
Posted by: electro^plankton | Jun 21, 2007 12:30:17 PM
Ah we get it everyone! Knight is a saint and Washington is the devil.
Posted by: Jason | Jun 21, 2007 12:33:05 PM
Dear David Ehrenstein: You are assuming a lot, aren't you? We actually got pretty detailed reports from the set over the first incident: Patrick Dempsey was late to the set (as he apparently often is) to do a scene with Washington and Knight. Knight was waiting in the hall to make his entrance when Washington had a verbal fight with Dempsey over the latenss, saying he resented having to wait on Dempsey all the time, that he (Washington) wasn't like some of the other 'faggot' actors on the set who didn't mind waiting around for Dempsey to do his hair. Then Washington proceeded to attack Dempsey physically.
The fact that Washington (even after anger managment classes or consciousness-raising or whatever it supposedly was) doesn't understand why Knight felt insulted and attacked (in addition to Dempsey) shows how clueless and self-absorbed he remains, even after he put his foot in his mouth again by repeating the slur quite naturally and unselfconsciously. He thinks that if he calls a straight guy a faggot, it's okay, even if a gay guy happens to be in the vicinity to hear it, and even if the gay guy feels targeted by the slur. Washington is WRONG -- on all counts.
We do NOT know that ABC told Washington all would be well if he enrolled in classes. It's possible that producer and show-runner Shonda Rhimes urged him to do so -- certainly she gave Washington more public support in the matter than she ever gave Knight (or Dempsey for that matter).
If Knight wore his heart on his sleeve in the press and on TV re this matter, it may be because he didn't feel properly supported by Rhimes or ABC. Certainly if Rhimes was more sensitive or more experienced, she would have understood that she had to praise Knight and Dempsey in public, as well as Washington. If Knight went to the Court of Public Opinion because of his frustration, who can blame him?
And as another poster noted, ABC let his contract lapse -- that's probably why he's furious -- if they had to buy him out, he would have walked away with a pay package -- now he actually has to face the consequences of his rage -- he can only live on what he has in the bank, and he now has a well-justified reputation as a hot head, so certain doors will be closed to him -- justifiably.
Posted by: tjonasgreen | Jun 21, 2007 12:44:30 PM
I hope IW does sue...on whatever grounds his lawyers can come up with....and wins. He did everything ABC required of him, and they still let him go.
The man has apologized profusely, but that's not enough for some people, who seem to revel in demonizing him. Most of the omments I have read on this and other "gay" sites have been unforgiving, and more than a little racist. No surprise there.
IW should be glad he's off of that shitty show. Love him or hate him,he was definetely one of the best things about it, and I have no doubt ratings will dip even further next season.
Posted by: michael | Jun 21, 2007 12:44:40 PM
Michael, on more than one occasion now, IW has made comments which make it clear that the *ONLY* reason he made the apologies and did the PSA's was because he believed they were quid pro quo reparative actions for his conduct. He can apologize to hell and high water, but it's not going to change any of the facts.
Posted by: Harrison | Jun 21, 2007 12:49:03 PM
We mustn't forget that Washington actually said "fagg*t" _twice_: once in his brawl with Dempsey, then again in front of the PRESS at the Golden Globes (or was it the Emmys?) when he said, "I didn't call Knight a fagg*t."
He should have been fired just for bringing bad press to the show and its cast.
Posted by: doomed to be fabulous | Jun 21, 2007 12:59:07 PM
Classic "blaming the victim" here. IW seems to forget, among other things, that by outing TR he potential hurt TR's career along with his own.
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Jun 21, 2007 12:59:45 PM