As TJL Predicted...Ex-'Grey's' Star Cites Racism for Firing

[Brian Damage]

"Grey's Anatomy" star Isaiah Washington said racism was a factor in his firing from the hit ABC series after he twice used an anti-gay slur.

Washington, who initially used the epithet during an onset clash with a co-star, told Newsweek magazine that "someone heard the booming voice of a black man and got really scared and that was the beginning of the end for me."

He tried to make amends by expressing remorse and volunteering to enter a counseling program to understand how the confrontation got out of hand, he told Newsweek.

"My mistake was believing that I would get the support from my network and all of my cast mates across the board. My mistake was believing I could correct a wrong with honesty and sincerity," he said in the interview posted online Thursday.

"My mistake was thinking black people get second chances. I was wrong on all fronts," he said.

His unwillingness to act like a submissive black at work was part of the problem, Washington said.

"Well, it didn't help me on the set that I was a black man who wasn't a mush-mouth Negro walking around with his head in his hands all the time. I didn't speak like I'd just left the plantation and that can be a problem for people sometime," he said.

"I had a person in human resources tell me after this thing played out that `some people' were afraid of me around the studio. I asked her why, because I'm a 6-foot-1, black man with dark skin and who doesn't go around saying `Yessah, massa sir' and `No sir, massa' to everyone?

"It's nuts when your presence alone can just scare people, and that made me a prime candidate to take the heat in a dysfunctional family," he said.

ABC declined comment Thursday. In its one public statement regarding Washington, issued in January, the network said his actions were "unacceptable."

Washington, who used the slur against co-star T.R. Knight during a confrontation with Patrick Dempsey, repeated the word backstage at the Golden Globes in January in denying the first incident. A public apology to Knight and others followed.

[Ireneparalegal]

Um, actually Brian, it was me who made that prediction.

[Brian Damage]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

Um, actually Brian, it was me who made that prediction.

LOL I am sooo sorry! Either way, you hit it right on the head.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

LOL I am sooo sorry! Either way, you hit it right on the head.

Seeing that this is an angry black man we are talking abt, and all his incredulous "claims" that he is stating (more like worthless excuses) it didn't take much to figure out he would use that race card. That is always the last resort a person in his position would use when nothing else will work.

[TJL]

I'm predicting his next rant will be about the media giving Paris Hilton a second chance but not him.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by TJL

I'm predicting his next rant will be about the media giving Paris Hilton a second chance but not him.

All because she is a white, rich woman.

I also predict Al Sharpton will come into play.

[TJL]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

All because she is a white, rich woman.

I also predict Al Sharpton will come into play.

Al might come running in now bacause a black man cried racism (and his name hasn't been in the papers in a week or two) but since Isaiah started this whole mess by picking on a gay man, Al might steer clear of this one.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by TJL

Al might come running in now bacause a black man cried racism (and his name hasn't been in the papers in a week or two) but since Isaiah started this whole mess by picking on a gay man, Al might steer clear of this one.

That is the problem with this whole issue. A black man can call another man "***"...but you and I and all of America know that if the white guy had called the black guy a N*****, this would have blown up into something a lot more than THIS whole thing is right now.

[TJL]

If Isaiah had kept his mouth shut and taken his firing quietly, this whole thing probably would have been forgotten about in a year.

Now he sounds like an angry jerk with a gigantic chip on his shoulder. Who would want to work with him now?

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by TJL

If Isaiah had kept his mouth shut and taken his firing quietly, this whole thing probably would have been forgotten about in a year.

Now he sounds like an angry jerk with a gigantic chip on his shoulder. Who would want to work with him now?

Exactly! That is why I keep saying this guy didn't learn a damn thing in anger management. Sounds like he just did that to "please" ABC. Not because he really wanted to learn how to control any anger.

[catlover79]

All this crap and Al Sharpton, too?? What have we done to deserve this??

Isaiah Washington and Scott Baio...why don't they both take a flying leap into the nearest dumpster?? Leave the rest of us alone for pete's sake.

[Janice]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

That is the problem with this whole issue. A black man can call another man "***"...but you and I and all of America know that if the white guy had called the black guy a N*****, this would have blown up into something a lot more than THIS whole thing is right now.

That's it in a nutshell. Double standards run wild.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by Janice

That's it in a nutshell. Double standards run wild.

Not only that, Isaiah got away with saying the gay slur TWICE! One time on television to a crowd and to a viewing audience.
Do you think that a white gay man would have gotten away with it ONCE?

[TJL]

From the IMDB:

Actor Isaiah Washington insists the only reason he was fired from TV show Grey's Anatomy for making a homophobic remark was because of the color of his skin. Washington infamously made an offensive comment about castmate T.R. Knight last October and repeated it at the Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. But the 43-year-old claims he was fired from Grey's Anatomy earlier this month because America can't find it in its heart to forgive an African-American. He cites the examples of actor Robert Downey, Jr., who has rebuilt his career despite multiple run-ins with the police over his drug problems, and politician Arnold Schwarzenneger, who has fought allegations of sexual misconduct. Washington tells U.S. magazine Newsweek, "I apologized and showed my remorse for what I said and for the pain I caused anyone. If a black man can't get forgiveness in this country, when so many other people like Robert Downey, Jr. and the governor of California get second and third chances... I think that says a lot about race and this country where we stand."

You notice he doesn't cite Michael Richards as an example.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by TJL

From the IMDB:

Actor Isaiah Washington insists the only reason he was fired from TV show Grey's Anatomy for making a homophobic remark was because of the color of his skin. Washington infamously made an offensive comment about castmate T.R. Knight last October and repeated it at the Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. But the 43-year-old claims he was fired from Grey's Anatomy earlier this month because America can't find it in its heart to forgive an African-American. He cites the examples of actor Robert Downey, Jr., who has rebuilt his career despite multiple run-ins with the police over his drug problems, and politician Arnold Schwarzenneger, who has fought allegations of sexual misconduct. Washington tells U.S. magazine Newsweek, "I apologized and showed my remorse for what I said and for the pain I caused anyone. If a black man can't get forgiveness in this country, when so many other people like Robert Downey, Jr. and the governor of California get second and third chances... I think that says a lot about race and this country where we stand."

You notice he doesn't site Michael Richards as an example.

Nor Paris Hilton.