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Alright, USA Today has an article that sheds a little more ‘official’ light on the subject of the whole Grey’s drama.
First, Heigl appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show (anyone have a clip of this somewhere?) and talked about it:
“There was some scuffle. … I don’t know what the fight was about. … It was something silly and manly. There was a little burst of testosterone in the room, and then within five minutes … they were totally fine and joking with each other and laughing.”
Sounds a bit like what Kate Walsh said.
Additionally:
Washington was
to have taped an interview Tuesday with DeGeneres to appear today, but canceled (citing a change in his production schedule) after Heigl playfully warned DeGeneres to “step back” during Washington’s appearance.
DeGeneres responded by saying Washington “better not call me a name … I’ll be swinging.”
Hmm. I find Ellen’s comment a little telling, about the not calling her a name. Kidding or not, I think it definitely alludes to the homophobic comment accusations. That, and the fact that he cancelled the interview. I’m not buying the change in production schedule excuse, are you? Guess he’s laying low.
All that said, ABC has officially stated that Washington isn’t going anywhere. According to Charissa Gilmore from ABC, they have “no intention of replacing Isaiah.”
[Thanks for the link, Karine!]
Yeah… it’s too bad I chose to be straight – it could have been beautiful. ;)
Oh well, guess she’s off to spread the Word elsewhere now. And taken all her semicolons, too.
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Isn’t it sad that so many people jump to conclusions before all of the facts are known or are quick to pass judgement. We don’t know what happened. We don’t know what lead up to the altercation between Isaiah and Patrick. We do know that Isaiah’s comment was meant to say that he is not gay leading me to believe that Patrick did something to provoke the anger. I don’t condone physical violence of any kind, but the fact that they were, from all accounts, laughing together a very short time later, leads me to believe that it was just what Katie Heigl said, a burst of testosterone, and that no one was injured. I also do not condone statements that are hurtful to anyone. More hurtful comments have been hurled at Isaiah Washington’s acting (by people that I can only surmise have not watched the brilliant way he has portrayed Preston Burke on Grey’s Anatomy) and his character (by people who rush to judgment without the facts) this past week than were warranted by the original comment. He wasn’t trying to hurt T.R. Knight or damage his career. Granted he should not have referenced him, but his comment was directed at Patrick Dempsey and I took it to mean don’t push me around and act like I am in your pocket. He was man enough to come public and apologize even though McDreamy hasn’t said a word about his role in the disagreement. I am a Grey’s fan, and more, I am a Isaiah Washington fan. He was on the Megan Mullaly show and during the interview talked about how happy he is that people all over the world seem to be accepting the love relationship between Burke and Cristina on GA. He said he hoped that this would help people be accepting of all kinds of relationships including those between two people of the same gender. I don’t think he hates gays or was bashing them. I believe he was defending himself and used an unfortunate term in the process that has been blown completely out of proportion. Although I have not read all of the posts above, I do want to make one point about race and sexual orientation. While neither may be a lifestyle choice, Isaiah Washington “came out” as a Black man the minute he was born. He had no choice. T.R. Knight could hide his gayness from the television viewing audience if he chose to do it. Whether he is gay or not, he could simply have ignored it or denied it. He is chosing to be openly gay, and more power to him. I suspect this has more to do with his relationship with a male star from another television show that it does with Isaiah’s comment. Regardless, this is his choice, not Isaiah’s fault. MJ, I am with you! Preston Burke is my favorite character on the show and no one can bring his character to life like Isaiah Washington. I am not so perfect as to have never said something in anger that I later regretted. I choose to make that same assumption of this actor.
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Faggot is not an “unfortunate choice of words” one uses in anger. It is hate speech, plain and simple. An opportunity to denounce it was missed by Mr. Washington, and that’s a shame. If indeed the cast is all fine and dandy, then the incident is over and that’s that. As to the idea chat T.R. had a “choice” to simply “ignore” or “deny” his sexual orientation and that somehow that makes his gayness easier to bear than Mr. Washington’s blackness, that is a naive statement. However, I’m glad you’re supportive of him – just wish you were aware of exactly how painful I.W.’s “unfortunte choice of words” had to be for him to hear. Particularly in the workplace in front of cast and crew. I, too like the burke character…I’m just not terribly impressed with the behavior of the man who plays him
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“I’m glad you’re supportive of him – just wish you were aware of exactly how painful I.W.’s “unfotunte choice of words” had to be for him to hear”.
JCW – I just have to ask, are you TR Knight? Or are you speaking for yourself. Because if you are speaking for yourself, you weren’t there and didn’t hear it or the context of the statement.
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No, Vee, I wasn’t there. It’s called empathy.
I don’t have to be there when an individual is called a bitch, nigger, c*nt, wetback, or any other derogatory term to know that it isn’t a pleasant experience.
Why? Were YOU there? Do YOU think it felt good?
In exactly what “context” do you think it is appropriate to be referred to by a coworker as a “litle faggot”?
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That exactly what I thought, and that’s my point, no I wasn’t there so I can’t tell you what was said or how anyone felt.
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It is only hate speech if it is used as such. He didn’t say I hate fxxxots. He said I am not one. I think it was an unfortunate choice of words. He could have said, “I am not your girlfriend.” Do you think it is hard to bear being gay? I have several gay friends who live wonderful, full, and happy lives with partners who love them and many friends who support them. Their lives are not harder to bear than anyone else’s. I think your empathy is misplaced, JCW. T.R. Knight is a fine actor with many, many fans and supporters. He isn’t asking for your empathy because he chose to say to the world that he is a gay man. He may be quite proud of his life style choice. However, you are right. It is never appropriate in any circumstance to refer to your co-worker by a derrogatory name. That is why Isaiah apologized. The whole event is behind them and I choose not to let it change my regard for the show, my appreciation of the actors’ talents, or my love for the characters that inhabit Seattle Grace. Why do you need to hold on to this anger about it? Forgiveness may be as important as tolerance.
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JCW you seem pretty racists to me you know all the harshes words to call people.
Are you TR Knight using a fake name? If I could fire everyone that called me a N***** there would be a lot of places closed down. No be one in the real world gets fired for saying racists comments. So let Isaiah say he is sorry and put him on probation. If he does it again fire him them.
There was nothing to say about Ellen D wonting to fight!!!! Because she is white. Lets all just over look it..
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Um… Ria… Isaiah ALREADY has said he’s sorry…then he took it back, in the worst possible way. How many sorry’s are you willing to give the man? More than you’d give any white person I’ll wager.
You and I have bumped into each other in these forums repeatedly and it seems pretty obvious to me that the only reason you are here arguing on Washington’s behalf is because he’s black.
Unlike you, I do NOT view this as a race issue – I see it as a HUMAN issue, and I only wish you could as well.
I think it’s sad, because this isn’t about black or white, it’s about equal and fair treatment of people.
You’ve made your view known that you do not consider calling somone “f*ggot” as bad as calling someone “n*gger”, seems to me we’ve nothing much left to speak of between the two of us.
You’re all about standing up for the black man – right or wrong – and there’s nothing I can say to make you think differently.
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JCW
I am about what is fair. I also want to save the show. I beleive that both words are bad. I think one is worst than another yeah. I feel that they can work it out between Isaiah and TR. So, see it from someone elses point. I am sorry if I have hurt your feelings, but I see a double standard here, and I can have my opinion. I love that you are passionate about your beleives but so Am I. Just as the gay community comes together, so will the black community to defend Isaiah. If
He says it again after all of this then he will have to go. I DO AGREE TO THAT..
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Ria, I appreciate your attempt to meet me half way.
But as you implied, certain members of the black community are posting here simply to support Isaiah because they believe his words have not been as damaging as if a white man on the show had called him the “N” word.
However, the issue isn’t about someone calling Isaiah a name. And regardless of the fact that some people may feel the word F*ggot is not a serious word filled with hate, it is.
This truly has never been an issue of race, either in the workplace or amongst the majority of fans. I’ve always enjoyed Washington’s work and his character’s relationship with Sandra Oh.
However, if any actor on a show I watched called a fellow actor a n*gger and it became public knowledge, I’d write in to protest. And if that actor was given a second chance because he apologized, and then later on network television TOOK THAT APOLOGY BACK by denying he’d ever said it in the first place, I’d protest all the harder.
For you, for me, for the cast of Grey’s, for the fans, I hope that indeed Washington does get something good out of all this, stays employed, and shares that good.
I worry about his sincerity – he only apologized after ABC made him, only met with gay leaders after ABC set up the appointment, and only went to rehab after ABC made it a condition of his continued employment.
Still, if he comes away from this a better man more prepared to speak out about bigotry of all varieties, then something good will have come out of all this.
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[...] Offical News About the Fight [...]
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I don’t think Isaiah is racists he just has a bad temper and I think he doesn’t like Patrick D. for being late and Patricks lack of interest in the show. He has made it clear that he is going to do movies and he will leave the show eventually. So I think that Isaiah doesn’t have a problem with TR.
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