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Here’s an interesting development – Jasmyne Cannick, a gay and lesbian rights activist, has launched a petition to re-hire Isaiah Washington, despite being fired for his homophobic slur last year.
Cannick wants him back on the show because of what she calls a disturbing trend of ABC firing minority actors from prominent shows. She also said:
“Isaiah has done more for the gay and lesbian community than T.R. Knight did in or out of the closet. He did what they asked him to do [apologize and star in a PSA], and now they want to make sure he will never work again. At what point is enough enough?”
That was always my big issue with the firing too – he DID apologize, he DID do the PSA, and he DID work with gay and lesbian rights groups. Plus, actor issues aside, I love the character, so I’d love to see Burke back.
i think they fired washington because yeah he did say sorry and he did everything they asked him to do but i think they thought he was only doing it to get his job back.
I agree they should re hire him. They are making too many changes to Grey’s Anatomy, that was up until the season finale my favorite show. But since all the changes and people leaving I am not to sure I will keep watching this upcoming season.
i agree with this article!
re hire burk!!!
i also want to add my theory, i think they will have him on an episode as a visitor but then later on bring him back on the show mabe we should all just see what happens.
also i think it would be nice to have him back on the show but its really up to the makers of greys anatomy
/rant continues
And let’s also face the fact that he wasn’t let go just because of the gay slur. He PHYSICALLY ATTACKED a fellow castmate (Dempsey). He has a history of anger management issues and violence. Get a clue people. If he acted this way in your workplace, you’d want him out of there as well.
/rant, really.
and “really” you don’t know what happened behind the screens now do you? No.
I’m not sure how I feel about all this yet. We don’t know the whole story. I doubt he was fired just because of the slur. There must’ve been more going on. I was disappointed to read about him being fired, Burke was a very strong character. I didn’t like him until later in the series…have close friends similar to Christina, I hated how he pushed her and seemed less understanding at times. But I came to love his character.
I hate where the show seems to be going now. I was so happy when Derek and Meredith got together and seemed to be happy, but I guess that now show on TV will allow their character to be happy…where’s the fun in that, right? I do have to say though, that if they break up, I will probably stop watching the show. I don’t feel they should be the next ones at the alter; they still have a lot of issues to work out, but what relationship doesn’t have troubles from time time time? The writers need to give Meredith some time to be happy or at least happier, like she was 1st season. They pick on her too much. I mean they drowned her, killed her mother, her step-mother, gave her the intern exam, and brought another girl into the picture in what would have been a matter of weeks. That’s just too much.
I’ve gone way off topic. But I was going somewhere. She needed Burke and Christina to get married. She needed that little ray of sunshine. Firing Washington kind of put out any ray of sunshine. I do hope they have him back for at least a few episodes to wrap up that storyline, give everyone some closure, and maybe have him talk some sense into Derek before he goes away.
Bring BURKE back on the show…he is the best…he will always be the best…
I love you Isaiah Washington…
He apologized, and is attending anger management classes. What more is the man supposed to do? We are all human and we make mistakes. It is time to forgive and let go. GA will not be the same without Burke and his relationship with Christina. I really hope they change their mind and give him another chance. If nothing else, as has already been said, he needs to be there for at least a few episodes. There has to be closure with Christina.
Great shows like Greys will always succomb to executive decisions to make a change in casting or fire. Isiaiah made his bed…absolutely. No one is disputing that. He’s no different than any other human being who displays such ignorance. Is he deserving of a second chance. Absolutely. How else will we know if he has geniunely learned a lesson and made a life change. Hire him back. Don’t ruin the brilliance of the show by trying to prove consciousness. Please. Don’t let the show die. The cast is great but works best in it’s original wholeness.
HIRE HIM BACK!!!
I HATE THIS SHOW NOW, SO DO MY FRIENDS THAT WERE BIG FANS. HOW COULD THEY HAVE FIRED ISAIAH WASHINGTON, SO IF THE NEXT DISAGREEMENT IS BETWEEN PATRICK DEMPSEY AND ELLEN POMPEO, THEY’LL BE FIRED TOO?
MY FRIENDS AND I ARE NEVER WATCHING THE SHOW AGAIN, AND WE ARE STARTING RALLY AMONGST OUR COLLEAGUES FOR THEM TO STOP WATCHING IT TOO.
GREYS ANATOMY SUCKS, AND I’M VERY DISSAPOINTED!
It surprises me when public figures apologize of discriminatory comments as if what was said didn’t hurt anybody. It is not like when someone who loves you does something wrong and then apologizes, and you know is a true apology because you know this person. What this guy did was the politically correct thing to do for the press and for his job, when in reality, in his heart, maybe he hates gays. Same when Mel Gibson said those anti-Semitic and homophobic comments many times and then apologizes, do you really believe is true? Same situation when Tim Hardaway said those homophobic comments about John Amaechi, and then he pologized too. Come on! If you open your mouth take responsibility and own it!
Also, something I’ll never understand is how is it posible that some of this people who belong to a minory, which was discrimitad for centuries (and still are), discriminize another minority who are fighting to get the same rights that is was so hard for them to acomplish.
I think that firing Isaiah was the right thing to do.
Dear April,
You are so ignorant! With you logics, the same way that Isaiah had the right to be bold and call someone a fag, the same right have gays to complaint and get him out of there. As simple as that!
I assume you are a woman, so if this would’ve happen many years ago when women had no rights and someone made a comment against your gender, would you like someone to defend you?
Hey, let hire WWII Nazis for the show, as long as they play good caracters, what difference does it make?
By the way I agree with Daniel
too bad freedom of speech doesnt apply when you are talking to personally offend or put someone in harm.
also, i think its flippin ridiculous that IW now wants to turn this into a lawsuit. seriously.. people get fired from their jobs, contracts dont get renewed, ya go on and get another job. its disrespectful (is that a word? lol) to your fellow co-workers, no matter what the employment may be. he needs to stop being angry and move on. this has nothing to do with the fact that tr is a gay white man and iw is a black man. itd be the same if katherine heigl or ellen pompeo called tr a “fag” its about morals in the workplace, hell, morals in the world even.
Isaiah did TWO PSA’s not just one!!
Did you see this? (YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8pjLfeggsQ
I think as fans who obviously love GA, it is a big shame IW had to lose his role ar Burke. In my opinion his character is unreplacable, a reason the creaters won’t even consider doing this.
He should be given a 2nd chance like we all deserve for no other reason other than playing Preston Burke to perfection. They will miss him, trust me they will. You all will, gay comments or not!!!
I won’t miss him. I think, just like Burke, he is arrogant and thinks he is above others. I saw his PSA thing and he was just speaking words. There was no conviction behind them whatsoever. It is time for Cristina to find someone who loves and respects her and treats her well. Burke was a jerk and so is Mr. Washington.
Even until now…at this moment…i’m still hoping that BURKE will coming back for the show…
I love his character…love Preston Burke…
“I think the worst part of all this is that we have been lead to believe that IW verbally attacked TR and PD came to save the day and now ABC is saving us from this bad bad man. When in all reality TR wasnt even on the set when the slur was made but very few people are mentioning that. Also every report i’ve seen says that IW blurted out the comment again for no reason at the GG”s and no one mentioned the fact that he was repeatedly asked if he made the statement and was responding to the questions. Despite all of that he stepped up and took the blame and tried to make amends. He has also been a gay rights advocate since waaaay before all of this. Seems to me ABC gave the wrong cast member a raise and left not only a good actor but a good person out in the cold. Good luck IW”
i post this comment on behalf of someone out there…this is the best comment i had ever read about IW getting fired and i want to share it with you all here…
I wish him the best of luck – he and Sandra Oh were great together – most of the other characters are annoying. I think the show will suffer – frankly the show was better when I didn’t have to think about who these people are in “real” life.
Between IW and TR Knight, there’s no question that IW is the stronger actor and character on the show. He will be missed, and he’ll leave a gaping hole in the show. George could leave and yes, the roll of puppy dog may be empty, but puppy dog men are a dime a dozen. Complicated, strong and successful men are far more rare. And I’m talking characters, not the actors themselves. They fired the wrong man.
As for the actor personally, we don’t know what happened there beyond gossip. As he apologized and did something substantive for the group he offended – what more is there? Even if it was the PC thing to do, that doesn’t make it insincere or worthless.
I think it’s one of the many, many huge mistakes GA has made this season and yet another nail in their coffin. Sad that a show has done this to itself, but from all accounts the actors will be happy to leave it behind them.
After the season finale, I personally have no desire to watch the show anymore. There was nothing left to look forward to. Not one good thing happend. I was left disappointed and the one show I looked forward to seeing every week is now blah. I will miss Burke. He was one of my favorites. I think that they should leave what goes on behind the scenes behind the scenes.
Being someone with ADD myself, with all the challenges of blurting things out without thinking abou the consequences and the anger control, I can only interpret what I’m hearing as those same symptoms. I also don’t think it’s wise to keep firing people based on what they are saying IF they do have ADD. This may just be read as an excuse to some, but it is a very real thing for many adults.
I was watching the Season 1 and Season 2 videos and will miss his character. Vulnerable yet confident, insecure yet strong.
BIG mistake in letting him go! I don’t think anyone should have been fired – so it’s not about firingthe wrong person, even though it seems ludicrious to continue having TR play a straight man.
I couldn’t agree more!!!! BURK AND CHRISTINA FOR EVER!!!
If they were going to fire him, what was the point of making him apologize publicly, work with the gay rights groups and do the public service announcements??
I am chinese girl ,I like burke very much , I hope he back grey