Last night, Isaiah Washington stopped by Larry King to discuss how an on-set incident last October snowballed into his firing from Grey's Anatomy last month. To be honest, considering how much Isaiah has been running his mouth about this mess, I had zero desire to watch this interview....but I did anyway. What struck me most about the interview (transcript here) was a) the chain of events he told was not the one we've been hearing all along and b) he talked about being gagged by Touchstone, which seems odd since as far as I can tell he's been talking about it a lot.
Isaiah asserted that he never directed the infamous F-word at T.R. Knight and it was instead used in reference to how Patrick Dempsey was treating Washington on set: "To him about how I was feeling. I said there's no way you're going to treat me like a "B" word or a "P" word or the "F" word. You can't treat me this way in front of our crew."
To hear more about the interview just read more
Isaiah also said that he only used to F-word to imply "someone who is being weak," which is a pretty seriously weak excuse if you ask me. He also made some pretty middle school sounding excuses for Knight and his other cast member's behavior surrounding the indecent. A lot of he-said-she-said nonsense that, even if true, just makes Isaiah look bad. In the end though, he asserted that he regrets not only using the word, but the Golden Globes nonsense. Surprisingly, Isaiah came off well on Larry King (though I hope he moves on now), and if all his allegations are true, it sheds a new light on all this nonsense. What do you think? Did you watch? Did it change your feelings about Isaiah?
Piquadro
Monsoon
Lanvin
He is a class act. Too bad he wasn't more like his character, Burke was such a sophisticated character.
1I wasn't compelled to watch. Whatever Isaiah. It's over. There's never an appropriate time to use that F word these days. (Well, unless you're smoking in England with a lot of senion citizens.) Live and learn.
2He seriously needs to STFU!
3Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!
4I thought he was arrogant from the start and I didn't like him anyway, well, I guess I was ambivalent, I didn't care either way. After he apologized I understood how is could have come out, I catch myself saying something is gay in front of my homosexual brother. He should have just done his psa's and whatnot and not spoken of it again. I think the whole cast should have just kept their mouth's shut about the whole thing after it happened. Now I can't stand him at all. The whole thing seems sketchy to me. I wasn't a Grey's fan before and I certainly won't watch it now.
5He's such a "P" word.
6i agree pud. he's also a little "B" word!!
7He's dragging this on and on. He needs to make some attempt to salvage his career. If there is some truth to his accusations they will come out. Vengeful people just seem to waste a lot of energy instead of just letting it flow and focusing on the positive. He just needs to let that madness go and move on.
8He really needs to stop talking. The more he talks the worse he makes himself look.
9It's old news I agree,but I really do hope he makes a cameo (maybe not next season cos' it still too fresh) but the season after cos' the Burke /christina relationship was too awesome to just leave loose ended.
10Well it's all over with, but i can still understand him "wanting to clear his name" after all he is an actor and need ppl to want you be in a show, gosh ppl do irritate me...i wasnt all that much a fan of Grey's Anatomy but after hearing this crap i dont care for it at all!! Some ppl got to learn to keep their mouth just though but i hope and wish it goes downhill!
11would you like some cheese with that whine?! i bet his wife is fuming mad at him: "we could have moved out of the valley into the hills! i wanted a new benz! i've become a leper amongst my friends! i want a divorce!"
12I’m not agreeing with Isaiah on this. Frankly, he needs to just learn to shut the f— up.
BUT…
13ABC is full of it with the gay-hab. They sent him to sensitivity training and misrepresented it.
If they were going to fire him, they should have done it when he used the term in the first place, not after it became public or after he used the slur at the Emmy’s. It’s as bogus as MSNBC and CBS radio’s firing of Imus. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t like either one of them, but don’t pretend you’re some champion of justice when you waited and waited and waited and waited for public opinion to determine their course of action. Cowards!
LOL jylee.. yea, he did manage to talk himself out of a nice spot on a top ten show to an empty calender. Not much in the works for him right now. He is a talented actor, so maybe he'll rebound. Or perhaps not.
14So he spewed misogynistic and homophobic slurs, and yet he only got slammed for the latter. Wonderful. Apparently, the only bigotry that is oh so acceptable is misogyny (Do not trivialize it as rudeness, or "disrespect").
*Yes, the B- and P- words are slurs. Any justification for its use fails, as the trigger is gender and, thus, the target. For ex., the N-word also involves misbehavior (stupidity, ignorance, laziness) in its definition yet it is (rightly) denounced as a slur b/c it attaches them to blackness. They are slurs and their popularity just shows how entrenched that intolerance is.
15would mcdreamy of mcsteamy had been fired if they had said that word?? i doubt it.
16I'm wondering that myself Loren...
17Come on, I am SO SICK of hearing about this!
I'm just wondering who the new guy on
the show will be...
18hmm.. im on isaiahs side. i think if TR knight had said the "n" word.. there would have been a big stink about it but he would have never been fired.
i think TR knight is just a baby & wanted to make this all about him. from all the news, it was never known before this happened that TR was gay.. so how could isaiah be calling him the f word? nobody forced him out of the closet.. he could have just kept it to himself, he just wanted the attention & publicity.
anyway blah blah blah, im on isaiahs side.
PLUS i agree with what nigerienne ..they should have fired him first thing.
19Do you (plural) really think TR did this for publicity? I'm starting to think so, especially since Isiah directed it at Patrick. Ooh, that's downright cold.
20His "excuse" is that his real comment was that Patrick Dempsey or whoever was "treating him like a faggot." That is just as derogatory a comment as supposedly calling TR Knight a faggot. Saying you're treating someone like a "girl" or a "fag" or whatever is not exactly saying that one thinks highly of women or gays. He's a jackass.
21hate him
22why is this crap still news?
23Janeiro, I don't know but he is the only one who has benefited from it. I wish this never happened just so I wouldn't have to hear about it.
24my god. over this ages ago.
25man this guys a tosser
26TR Knight was never really closeted, he just chose not to talk about his sexuality. It was well known amongst the cast. Do not blame TR Knight for being offended by the use of that word. If TR had used the N word, I'll bet he would have been immediately fired because you know that the Al Sharpton's of the world would have gotten in on that action. Plus, the writer/creator of the show is a woman of color. SHE would have been offended as well.
27I'm really sick of Isaiah talking about this and blaming everyone but himself. I'm not sure who's going to want to hire him now... he's taking a bad situation and making it worse.
28This guy is pathetic. By his own words he is proving why his contract was not renewed. From when the intial matter came up, they kept up talking about Isaih having all this attutude and other issues(and had issues in the past). From what he said, which I do not really believe anyway but well..He told McDreamy that he basically couldn't act (didn't see the unprofessionalism of that), said McDreamy got pissed at him and then he made some slurs about himself (three bad words--oh is Ok cause you were saying them about yourself -- give me a break), see how he does not mention the chokehold. Then saying it again at the Emmy's and basically calling one of his co-workers someone who is making this up for publicity-- another give me a break!!!!! TR Knight did not even confirm the story until later. He was not fired because he was black but blaming someone else for his attitute and problems with his co-workers is priceless. Plenty of people get terminated for discriminatory reasons, I do discrimination law, and false claims like this take away from the ones with merit.
29You know, if you worked anywhere, used the "f" slur and tried to choke a coworker, you'd be fired. Why is he so surprised? I think they kept him on to finish out the storyline and let him go at the end of his contract. He was too big a liability to keep around, but they owed their viewers a wrap up to his storyline.
30He should've never went.
31Oh yay. He's defending himself for saying the "f" word because it was in a string of words traditionally attributed to the feminine and often used in a derogatory way. Fabulous guy...
32I didn't even read this. I just don't care that much about him. Don't waste the space. No one really cares.
33OMG is he still talking?
34I've been following this story closely, as I knew TR back when he was a Minnesota actor (NOT New York), and not only was he one of the nicest guys, but he was NOT in the closet. Nobody ever talked about it while he was on the show until this incident. I don't think he's "milking" the publicity. By his own account, he wasn't there, and he heard the same reports that I did, that Washington said "I'm not your little faggot like TR." He had no choice but to respond, and I think he did so gracefully. I especially like the line "i hope that's not the most interesting thing about me."
My husband used to know Washington and described him as arrogant and rude. While everyone else was shocked when this story came out, my husband said "yep, sounds like something he would say." He put his foot in his mouth and at this point he's deep throating up to his knee. What an ass.
35Well I guess this might be an unpopular opinion, but, it's mine and here goes....I'm on Isaiah's side on this. Is it really that hard to believe that a gay man wouldn't stoop as low as other members of other groups have just to get ahead????I mean really...think about it!! I think TR Knight saw his opportunity and took it. I'm not saying that Isaiah wasn't a pain in the butt to everyone by complaining on the set, I just think a couple of shrewd thinkers took the situation and ran with it. I also think the way the F word was blurted out back stage at the Emmy's kind of showed how the situation hadn't become a full blown problem yet.Once TR Knight went on ELLEN that sealed Isaiah Washington's fate. That's when the producers decided that they had better do something....Rehab for Homophobes????? Give me a break!The rest of the Gray's cast better watch their backs and not make too much more money than TR Knight or their days might be numbered too!
36I don't believe anything Isaiah says. He's just trying to cover that way he won't be shunned from the acting business.
37After watching the interview, I'm starting to side with Isaiah. He clearly has an anger problem and he's arrogant, which is SO shocking for a Hollywood actor. My goodness. RUDE?! Not an actor. Even theater actors scraping by from Starbuck's tips have egos.
I don't think he would ever put himself out there unless this weren't true. Yes, he's an ass. Yes, he used hate speech, though apparently not in the same context as was described. The whole "I'm not your f- boy like TR thing" and choking weren't ever confirmed. They do reserve the right to fire him, but they seem to have given out a really false impression of what took place. Also, I've heard about his reputation so I'm sure ABC and Grey's producers were aware of it.
38im so only this already.
39just face it, your ass was fired!
and that's it! no more b*tching!
I've got from anger to amusement to a wondrous kind of awe with this guy.....His DEFENSE is that he didn't mean f****t as a slur, just as a way of saying "someone is weak" -- ?!?! That's your DEFENSE? The one you've had months to think about?
His self-destruction is approaching the level of performance art.
That said, I agree w/ nigerienne, he behaved poorly, but ABC handled it atrociously. I think they should be ashamed, but the more he talks, the more sensible they seem.
40I am so over him already.
41maybe if he stopped talking about it we would all move on...
42This guy is a scary loose cannon. Yikes!
43He won't stop talking about it because he is a loose cannon. Yikes!
thing is he's trying to save his career same way mel gibson did after his outburst. He has to try and clear his name or else his career might be over. i can't blame him, he's a desperate man.
...
Esp since he did everything his bosses asked him to - apologise, show remorse etc... but it seems like it didn't count for anything, they just wanted to keep him so that they would have a good season finale and then they cut him loose.
... that's hollywood for ya!
44His personality stinks, but Im really going to miss his character, Burke; he was such a classy fellow.
45next please...
46I'm siding with Isaiah on this one...
47Does he really think he is helping his image at all? He needs to move on. He will be lucky to find work with anyone if he keeps yapping.
48Yah, I just wish he would have some pride and stop talking. He is digging himself into a deeper hole with each word. I thought he should have been fired at the time, especially when he repeated the "F" word on national TV, but I guess there were contract's to honor. I just hope this dosen't affect the show. Love Grey's!
49His story seems to change everytime he opens his mouth. This guy is a total liar! He's gone from saying he was sorry for saying it to saying he never said it and now he is saying that he said it but didn't aim in at Knight. He is a compulsive liar!
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