Time for Isaiah to Go

It disappoints me to see a good actor like Isaiah Washington in a groundbreaking drama shoot himself in the foot. There are so few black men playing characters that can be considered role models on TV. Furthermore, there are so few talented black actors surrounded by an amazing cast like that on Grey’s Anatomy. There is something for everyone on that show which is why it is a monster hit. When you are in the public eye with as much exposure as any member of the Grey’s Anatomy cast is, common sense should tell you to keep cool and keep your mouth shut if you don’t have anything good to say. I wish someone told Isaiah that.

Not only did Isaiah almost come to blows with Patrick Dempsey on set, but he called T.R. Knight a faggot. This forced T.R. Knight to come out publicly. As if that wasn’t bad enough and didn’t cause enough of a media storm, Isaiah denied that the incident happened to the press after the cast’s Golden Globes win. This irritated members of the cast including Katherine Heigl and of course T.R. Knight who voiced their opinions on Access Hollywood and the Ellen DeGeneres Show respectively.

It is bad enough that Isaiah made a homophobic statement and let his temper get the best of him on set, but his actions forced another cast member to reveal more to the public than he was ready to. Furthermore, denying the incident happened after publicly apologizing for it is puerile and speaks to his lack of integrity as an actor and as a person. Mr. Washington should take some time to look around the landscape of prime time television and realize how few men of color have been given the type of opportunity he has. Maybe he would think twice about his actions and humble himself on set. If not, I don’t see any reason why his character needs to remain on Grey’s Anatomy at all. Just make his character fail to recover from the second neurological surgery and have him lurk off into the Seattle gloom with his trumpet to play jazz. Let’s see how well his career does after he leaves (or is asked to leave) Grey’s Anatomy. He can be the next Eriq LaSalle. Anyone remember seeing him in anything after leaving ER aside from One Hour Photo? Me either.

Tags: Grey's Anatomy, homophobe, intolerance, Isaiah Washington, Screen, T.R. Knight

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January 18, 2007 | Filed Under Screen 

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