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Isaiah Washington breaks his 5-day silence on his firing


Isaiah Washington has granted an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly following the news that he had been fired from the cast of Grey's Anatomy and subsequent reports via his representation that he was "mad as hell", considering a lawsuit against ABC, and other things.

So it's surprising to hear the somber tone of the interview, which sounds more exhausted than litigious. Still, Washington is blaming the media (again) for his use of the word "faggot" in reference to castmate T.R. Knight, which indicates that perhaps he hasn't learned much from this ordeal after all:

I can only apologize so many times. I can only accept so much responsibility. All the players involved have taken care of what we needed to take care of in-house — and the media took it in a different direction. I hope that everyone is happy for the outcome for Isaiah, but Isaiah will go on and do what I love to do. And I have to go about the business of letting people know what's written about me is not the truth. I'm merely an actor, a husband, and a father who's trying to do a great job and be very grateful and understanding that I'm in a very privileged position. This isn't a time for me to be looking back; it's only a time for me to be looking forward. I just hope people can understand in the industry and otherwise that it's a horrible misunderstanding what transpired with our show and it was blown out of proportion. If the naysayers out there feel that some justice has been served and that they're happy with the outcome, so be it.

As we've said in the past, we think that some fault lies in ABC's poor response time in dealing with the issue: had they dealt swiftly and firmly with the issue of a cast member physically assaulting one co-star while throwing hate speech at another (who wasn't even in the room, for crying out loud!), things wouldn't have gotten to this point. But for Washington to blame the media for what happened is just stupid.

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  • IDStewart's picture

    "Still, Washington is

    "Still, Washington is blaming the media (again) for his use of the word "faggot" in reference to castmate T.R. Knight, which indicates that perhaps he hasn't learned much from this ordeal after all:"

    Does anyone honestly think that his meeting with GLAAD, his "rehab", his PSA is anything more than damage control (and not particularly effective damage control at that)?

    The first step in learning from one's mistake is acknowledging that a mistake was actually made, and simply put, Washington just isn't there today.  It remains to be seen whether he ever will be.

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    Bobbyjoe's picture

    Bobbyjoe Doesn't Like What Isaiah Said.

    Isaiah Washington says "I hope that everyone is happy for the outcome for Isaiah, but Isaiah will go on and do what I love to do."

    Hmmm.  I no longer think Isaiah Washington was fired over his homophobic outburst... I now think he was fired for being the kind of person who refers to himself in the third person.

    Only the Incredible Hulk can get away with that.  In response to Isaiah Washington, I have but one thing to say: "Hulk smash!"

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    brian's picture

    Brian likes Bobbyjoe's comment

    What's more, Bobbyjoe's handle makes Brian think of EVIL DEAD 2. Which is a good thing.
    Locksley Hall's picture

    I'd have more sympathy for

    I'd have more sympathy for Isaiah's "I've done everything I could to make amends" if there wasn't the little issue of... um, his failure to apologise to T. R. Knight? I mean, The Advocate asked T. R. whether Isaiah had ever apologised, and T. R. refused to answer the question... which pretty strongly indicates "no". Call me crazy, but I would have thought the first thing you might want to do, if you'd thrown a hateful word at someone in a fit of temper and you were truly sorry, is to apologise to them.

     

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    Evan's picture

    Right Decision

    I forgot about T.R. saying that.  Along with the non-existant public reaction I now think it was a good thing to fire him now.  (A week ago I said they should have waited another season)
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    ThoughLoversBeLost's picture

    Exactly!

    And, if I recall correctly, they danced around it on Ellen's show, but it was pretty clear that no apology had been made, and none was forthcoming either.

    It's like, I did the mandatory hollywood cover-ups, now gimme my cheque.

    Puh-lease.

    A true gentleman would have apologized immediately and not repeated the remark at any given opportunity.

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    kcholt68's picture

    "It's only a time for me to be looking forward"

    Yeah, to the end of your career ...
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    Sam's picture

    Info from Ausiello.

    Ausiello posted more about Isaiah being fired.

     

    Question: What's been the fallout from Isaiah Washington's Grey's firing?— Cindy
    Ausiello: Well, the folks over at Grey's are apparently steamed about comments Isaiah's rep, Howard Bragman, made to me on Friday — specifically the part about how his client jumped through hoops only to be fired anyway. "Apparently, Isaiah missed the point that he should have been apologizing and working on his anger issues because it's the right thing to do," whispers a Grey's insider. "It wasn't just supposed to be an empty exercise he went through for the sake of appearances."
     
    Question: Why did ABC wait so long to fire Isaiah Washington?— Nancy Farkas
    Ausiello: The alternative would've been to fire him in the middle of the season, and that would've been a disaster both legally and creatively. The easiest thing to do was release him at the end of his contract cycle, and that's what happened. What's not clear is when exactly the decision to dump him was made. Some say it was as far back as February; others insist a final verdict didn't come down until last week. Only a handful of people know for sure, and, unfortunately, one of them is nicknamed the Information Nazi.

     

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