Actor Isaiah Washington has issued an apology in a statement to People for his behavior during the now-infamous on-set argument with a Grey's Anatomy co-star.
"I sincerely regret my actions and the unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set," he said. "Both are beneath my own personal standards. I have nothing but respect for my co-workers, and have apologized personally to everyone involved."
After Washington, 43, and Patrick Dempsey, 40, clashed on October 9, reports began surfacing that Washington had used a homophobic slur during the fracas.
Then on October 19, their co-star, T.R. Knight, disclosed that he is gay.
"I'd like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there," he said. "I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me."
Fallout from the turmoil has sparked talk of everything from hasty script rewrites of an impending onscreen fight scene (not true, says show creator Shonda Rhimes) to rumors that Washington would be fired and replaced by former ER star Eriq La Salle.
"I found (those rumors) not only ridiculous but offensive that we would consider replacing a member of our family. Also, the (idea) that one black man was interchangeable with another is disturbing to me," Rhimes said.
Rhimes also dismissed speculation that the mood on the set has been tense since the argument.
"The mood's what the mood's always been," she said. "We have a group of people who are more of a family than anything else. We have our fun days, and we have our days when people are tired and the work is hard."
On Tuesday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Grey's costar Katherine Heigl played down the incident, calling it a "scuffle" that blew over in a matter of a few minutes.
Washington was scheduled to tape an interview with DeGeneres on Tuesday to air Wednesday, but canceled -- citing a scheduling conflict -- after Heigl jokingly warned DeGeneres to "step back" during Washington's appearance.
So what actually happened between Washington and Dempsey? A set source says that when Knight, 33, was late to film a scene, a debate ensued between Dempsey and Washington, with Dempsey insisting on waiting for Knight before starting the scene. The argument intensified, and the source says that the alleged slur was used -- but Knight was not present.
"Isaiah was running his mouth off," the source told People. "Isaiah verbally attacked Patrick. He tore into him. Patrick's voice escalated and he told Isaiah to f*%k off, (but) that was as heated as Patrick got."
As of today, Rhimes tells the magazine, Dempsey and Washington "are fine" -- as are Washington and Knight.
"They've had conversations," says Rhimes. "They did a really great scene together the other day." The whole affair, she says, "was four and a half seconds of one day in three years. I feel like we've already moved on."
We're glad that Washington and Rhimes have come forward to address the issue and assure us that everything has been resolved. Hopefully, the matter can now be put to bed and we can focus on the show!
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33 Comments
October 25th, 2006 10:15 AM
Now that Mr. Washington has indeed apologized for his "actions and the unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set," I will now not be watching this show any longer unless this actor is dismissed. To do otherwise is to condone violent actions laced with homophobiaâ€"characteristics I find abhorrent in any individual, let alone any actor who relies on viewers to maintain his very salary.
October 25th, 2006 10:42 AM
Ever heard abut being tolerant!! What gives you the authority to "dismiss" people? We are trying to obtain peace in this world and we can't even have "love and peace" attitudes in our daily life? I suppose you never said or did anything that you regret within minutes. What a mentality I feel so sorry for you.
October 25th, 2006 11:25 AM
Well, first of all... we dont even know what this "slur" is! Everything that claims for it to be homophobic is a RUMOR triggered by Knight's coming out of the closet. No one has even said if the two incidents are related. And I personally am just going to wait for the tell all interview before I go and cast judgement.
Second, even if it was a homophobic slur, everyone makes mistakes. If it was any other job, I do not believe it would result in a job loss (unless it was with a client/customer). But between co-workers, I think it would only result in a write-up or something. If Washington and Knight are fine and moving on with life, fans should too. If Knight can still wake up and come to work every morning and not feel violated, then surely I can continue to watch the show!
October 25th, 2006 12:40 PM
We STILL don't know what really happened and do we care? I don't not anymore.
But it's funny, everytime a white guy and a black guy get into a fight, the white guy always comes out on top looking like the hero and the black guy always comes out looking like the villian. Patrick isn't the goody-goody guys, he must have done "something."
I'll still be watching the show despite all this high school gossip crap going on.
October 25th, 2006 1:38 PM
Like I've said, the argument was between the actors, and since Knight wasn't there, whatever was said should not have gotten back to him, and the only reason it did was to cause problems - that's what jealous and evil people do. I will continue to watch, and my feeling for all three actors and characters hasn't changed, People need to stop putting actors and other famous people on a pedestal, because they are human and they make mistake. I love that Shonda is backing Mr. Washington, because I will continue to back him 100%. He has apologized and that is all he can do. So it's time to move on. I'm sure we've all said things out of anger and/or exhaustion.
And one other thing I realized from talking with friends is that some of these people commenting are CSI fans, so of course they want it to keep going.
October 25th, 2006 2:14 PM
Thank you for sharing the article with us. It sounds like the argument, over in seconds, was far less important to any of the people involved than we have been lead to believe by some members of the media more interested in furthering their own agenda than in giving us facts. I am proud of Isaiah for coming forward and publically apologizing. I don't know a single person who has never said or done something in anger they later regretted. If you have the DVDs from season two, listen to the episodes with the voice overs from actors, writers, and directors. They are just talking informally about the episodes as if we were in a room together watching. In every one, someone says something great about Isaiah. Sandra Oh comments on his sense of humor and how fun he is to work with. The writers and other actors talk about his dignity and the ways that he brings Burke to life that go beyond the words on the page. They talk about him as a friend and fantastic actor. Not once does anyone give any indication in either a direct or indirect way that he is someone difficult to work with. I am so glad that everyone has gotten past this on the set of Grey's Anatomy and now I hope we can all get past it, too.
October 25th, 2006 3:30 PM
I don't know what some of you people expect. Especially from people you don't know personally and what you do know is what you read. This is Shonda's problem to deal with and she has. It's time to leave well enough alone and move on.
October 26th, 2006 1:37 AM
We all don't know what happened but we can all sure guess what happened. WHere there's smoke, there's fire, right? Sure, everyone's trying to play it down but can anyone remember the Desperate Housewives Vanity Fair shoot? They all said it was nothing and just a misunderstanding. Really, it doesn't look good when big stars go bad and bitchy. Same case here.
Anyway, here's an acticle from AfterElton that talks about gay slurs comapring it to racial ones.
http://www.afterelton.com/TV/2006/10/fword.html
October 26th, 2006 6:19 PM
I loved Shonda's comment about how disturbing it is that anyone would think that one black actor could just take the place of another. I was really bothered by that, too, because if we know anything about Grey's it is that actors are cast regardless of race. Preston Burke did not have to be black. The fact that he is is completely beside the point. It is Isaiah Washinton's portrayal of Burke, with all of the expressiveness that he has brought to the part that makes the character come alive. No one else could ever be Preston Burke, black, white, or green.
October 26th, 2006 6:29 PM
Burke Backer, we must be related because you always say what I'm thinking. I hope IW knows he has so many loyal fans. I'm even learning how to create web pages so I can create one for Burke/Cristina. I'm not very computer literate, but for IW and SO, I'm willing to learn.