Isaiah Washington wishes he used a different word

I guess Larry King Live isn't really live since we already have a preview and a story recapping Isaiah Washington's appearance tonight. We'll see him he say that he tried to resign twice before he was fired (so was he "Mad as hell" over a big "You can't quit, you're fired!" type of fight, then?) Washington adds that he is "not homophobic, no way, shape and form," and does not use the f-word he used in reference to TR Knight commonly.

Washington discusses the slur, as expected:

"The dubious honor that I hold is not that I lack of awareness of the power of the word but I made a huge error in judgment in using the word at a time when all my friends, my companions who happen to be gay -- they're just sick and tired of hearing the word. And I did it before the world... in terms of what I was feeling on that day, I would rather wish I would say 'I wish would wouldn't treat me like an N-word'"

Kinda like Kathy Griffin, Washington mentions that he's been reading what's said about him on blogs. Considering the strong emotions he's invoked both among defenders and detractors, I hope he's got plenty of grains of salt next to his computer.