(Editor's update: Isaiah Washington issues apology)

(Editor's update: ABC issues a statement regarding Isaiah Washington.)

For those who have followed the Grey's Anatomy “faggot” controversy since it began last October, one of the recurring questions has been: Just what would it take to get the mainstream media to cover the use of an anti-gay slur? After all, had T.R. Knight called Isaiah Washington the N-word, there is little doubt about the coverage it would have drawn or the consequences Knight would have rightly faced.

Some media outlets have avoided reporting on the story because the alleged incident took place on the Grey's Anatomy set and not in public, a point of view encouraged by the show's producers. But that hasn't previously kept reporters from digging deeper to get a story, and for stories of considerably less importance — a feud between actresses on Desperate Housewives, for example — than the denigration of an actor who happened to be gay.

Now it we seems we have an answer to how to get the mainstream media to pay attention to the issue. It takes a pretty, straight woman — in this case Grey's star Katherine Heigl — speaking out about it. AfterElton.com and other gay media outlets covered the story extensively last October, including our feature, “The F-Word and the Media's Double-Standard for Gay Slurs.” But few mainstream outlets had much to say on the topic until this week, which culminated in Knight's appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show to discuss what happened.

The issue initially resurfaced after Monday night's Golden Globe Awards when Washington bizarrely decided to address a reporter's question to Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes about friction on the set. After grabbing the microphone, Washington said, “No, I did not call T.R. [Knight] a faggot. It did not happen.” The audio of the reporter's question is nearly unintelligible, and it's impossible to tell whether the question actually referred to Washington's use of the F-word.

What has gone unreported thus far is that Rhimes then said, “I think the best statement is just that things were created in a very odd way by the press that were not necessarily completely reported as true.”

Thus passed an opportunity for Rhimes to actually set the record straight and let America know she doesn't condone the use of sexual-orientation slurs by the people she employs. Instead, she spun the issue as somehow being the fault of an overly imaginative press. Not exactly a Harry “The buck stops here” Truman moment for Rhimes.

After Washington and Rhimes' denial, Heigl then felt compelled to speak up, telling Access Hollywood, “I'm going to be really honest right now, he [Washington] needs to not speak in public. Period. I'm sorry, that did not need to be said. I'm not OK with it.” Heigl continued on, backing up T.R. Knight and musing whether her comments would land her in trouble.

Given that no one else from ABC or Grey's Anatomy ever spoke up except to try to spin the incident as some sort of a “family affair,” it seems reasonable for Heigl to worry. After all, we're talking about one of television's most successful programs. Upsetting the apple cart over the use of an anti-gay slur just isn't done. At least, that is the message ABC and Rhimes has sent thus far.

So what should ABC and Rhimes do? AfterElton asked Paris Barclay, the widely respected director, producer, and a Director's Guild of America Vice President currently working on FX's Dirt and CBS's CSI, what action should be taken against Washington. “Here's what needs to happen: ABC, from Steve McPherson [ABC President] on down, need to condemn this kind of hate-speak, and Isaiah needs to be fired. It's just that simple. He needs to go. He's a homophobe and a liar, and no matter how important he may appear to be, there has to be a line on what behavior is acceptable both on the set and when representing the show to the press.”

When asked how he would've handled the situation, Barclay said, “We'd figure out a way to work out the contract issues, and write the actor out as quickly as possible. Actors with addiction problems have been let go unceremoniously -- this to me is much worse.”

Heigl's words have launched, if not quite a thousand articles, at least a couple of hundred, as news outlets ranging from MSNBC, FOX News and even ABC News finally picked up the story Tuesday. (This despite the fact there was no one nicknamed McDreamy or McSteamy directly involved.)

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