ABC rebukes 'Grey's Anatomy' star for slur
 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16696521/

'I can neither defend nor explain my behavior' says Isaiah Washington

LOS ANGELES - The heated controversy at ABC's top show, "Grey's Anatomy," boiled over Thursday as the network rebuked co-star Isaiah Washington for an anti-gay comment and Washington issued a lengthy apology.

"We are greatly dismayed that Mr. Washington chose to use such inappropriate language at the Golden Globes, language that he himself deemed 'unfortunate' in his previous public apology," the network said in a statement.

"His actions are unacceptable and are being addressed," the statement conclude.

During a backstage interview Monday at the Globes gala, Washington denied involvement in a heated on-set incident in October during which an anti-gay remark was reportedly uttered.

"No, I did not call [co-star] T.R. [Knight] a faggot," Washington told reporters. "Never happened, never happened."

In his apology Thursday, Washington acknowledged "repeating the word Monday night."

"I apologize to T.R., my colleagues, the fans of the show and especially the lesbian and gay community for using a word that is unacceptable in any context or circumstance. I marred what should have been a perfect night for everyone who works on 'Grey's Anatomy.' I can neither defend nor explain my behavior. I can also no longer deny to myself that there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I've asked for help."

ABC said in its statement it has "a longstanding policy to maintain respectful workplaces" for its employees, adding that the network had "dealt with the original situation in October, and thought the issue resolved."

Thursday's events followed a critical statement Wednesday from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Neil Giuliano, GLAAD president, said he had contacted Washington's representatives in hopes of meeting the actor to discuss "the destructive impact of these kinds of anti-gay slurs."

"Washington's repeated use of it on-set and in the media is simply inexcusable," Giuliano said in the statement.

Washington said on Thursday that he welcomes the chance to meet with gay and lesbian community leaders "to apologize in person and to talk about what I can do to heal the wounds I've opened."

"I know a mere apology will not end this, and I intend to let my future actions prove my sincerity," Washington said.

Knight, who said soon after the October fracas that he is gay, appeared in Tuesday's taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to discuss the original incident and Washington's recent comments.

"He referred to me as a faggot," Knight said of the October incident. "Everyone heard it."

"Grey's Anatomy," now in its third season, won the Golden Globe for best television drama. It regularly finishes atop or near the top of the Nielsen rankings.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I have to say - from the little I saw of it, I was not horrified by his comment at the GG's -- my take on it was he was reiterating he never said that and in that he used the word they said he said. Am I misreading this?

tragic. what if TR walked around using the N word, jokingly or not?

I mean, calling someone a faggot, imo, is tricky. you must either A) be a faggot yourself and somewhat close to the person or B) be extremely close to the person.

true. tell this to one of the guys i work with.

i have never used it and i have friends that are gay. I just dont feel comfortable saying it. That's not to say i will judge someone who uses it. Does that make sense? Probably not :laugh: i see "faggot" and "nigger" as very derogatory but think differently of "nigga" and "gay". its all a fine line. Just like you said-you have to be aware of who you are saying it to.

I feel horrible about this whole thing. And...I love this show.

Right - but he was saying he never said it, which is different than using it in conversation, which I agree would be bad.

I liked it when faggot was an old fashioned term for a small stick of wooden kindling. Little boys are always calling each other small sticks of wooden kindling I've heard. Send that actor back to school!

i saw the cast on oprah and i thought he admitted to saying it there. I could be wrong though.

I wouldn't be surprised if they fire him or write him off the show this season. I mean, imagine how uncomfortable it is going to be on the set for the whole cast? I bet within a few days he will be asked to leave the show. Or at least, that is what I secretly hope.

I think the same goes for the word nigger. It's ok to use that word if they are calling each other that. At least that's what my son tells me. He's 16 and has black friends and says they call each other nigger and he says that its ok for him (my son) to even say it to his best (black) friend. At first, I was shocked when I heard him say it to his friend :shocked: You can thank the Rap artist's for that :shrug:

It's true, there was one artist though that asked black people to stop doing this because he felt they were demeaning themselves which I think is true.

I think that the word "faggot" is just deemed so inappropriate that the fact that he re-used it in his public denial was offensive to many. It pretty much belies his denial when he used it so freely IMO.

oh, I see. I misunderstood what you were saying.
you know, I heard people talking about this last night and it got me to thinking it's totally true. no one should really be using the N word or faggot at all, black or gay or not. they both are such horrible words. I don't usually ever say faggot just because, after being called one for days on end at various times in my life, the word makes me sick. I may tell my friend "you're such a faggot" after he does something really gay, but that hardly ever happens.

just the other night on The Real Housewives of Orange County, two brothers were fighting and arguing and the younger brother called the older brother a faggot. I guess that was his way of "putting him down" - so, see...

This is the way I'm taking this whole situation, too. He has previously admitted that his behavior on set was inappropriate but denied using any such slurs. (Though, for the record, I think he's full of **** and he comes across to me as being an arrogant bastard, but that's besides the point.)

This time around, however, I don't think he intended any maliciousness in its usage. I mean, really, what's the difference between him saying "I never said faggot" and the various people on here who have stated that "It's wrong to say nigger"? Either way you're saying a derogatory and offensive word, but it's not actually directed at anybody.

i remember that scene! thank you for referencing the hos of OC. :lol:

i hate hearing kids use that word. if it were a racial slur, they would be corrected immediately!

I agree with you & Strand.

me too. as much as i hate that word, he wasn't using it in a hateful way in that instance ... :shrug:

I love my hos of the OC!
me three. after re-reading what Strand was saying, I concur.

But isn't it hypocritical to say you didn't say something offensive by saying it - regardless of the context? That is my take on it. But I am sensitive so there's that bias in me.

no, i don't think so. to me, hate words are only offensive if directed at someone - it's not offensive in and of itself.

I don't have problems with the words themselves- I have problems with the designs behind using those words. I don't think there's a way to use "faggot" in any fashion other than a pejorative one. That word always has some kind of sting to it.

"Fag" is not that big of a deal. And "faggy" is loads of fun.

[GRACE ENTERS THE ROOM AND SEES THE SMALL STAIRCASE, LEADING ONTO THE FLOOR.]

GRACE: [WHINING] Oh, for crying out loud, this is ridiculous. I just walked up a flight of stairs. [SIGHS] What, did they put this here just so that the queens could make an entrance?

[GRACE SIGHS AND PLODS DOWN THE STAIRS TO WILL.]

WILL: No...! [QUIETLY] And don't talk like that. This organization is dedicated to breaking down those kind of stereotypes.

[JACK ENTERS AND POSES AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS.]

JACK: [LOUDLY] Hello, girls! Dolly's back in town.

[JACK DRAMATICALLY DESCENDS THE STAIRCASE.]

[JACK WALKS PAST WILL AND GRACE.]

JACK: I'm a-go working....

GRACE: Somewhere, Rip Taylor is saying, "Now, that's faggy."

^^^^^^^

What about "Butt Pirate," "Anal Aviator," and/or "Rump Ranger?"

WHO LOVES YA BABY!!!!!!!!!!

:wavey: :wavey: :wavey:

I guess that's a valid point of view. I don't see it that way. I heard people calling it the "F bomb" on the radio this morning -
fudgepacker anyone? :shrug:

HELL, yes!!! :xoxo:

I LOVE "Butt Pirate". Anyone can call me that anytime and I'll be giddy as a little schoolgirl.:]

Of course you would. :)


I agree that the word faggot is usually meant to be nasty. It's somehow more biting (heehee) than saying gay or homo or even queer.

IMO anyway - and what would I know, I'm just the hag. :wavey:

I thought it was "Poo Pirate"?

GROSS!!!!! :laugh: :laugh:

I like the ass, not what comes out of it......

You gay's scare the hell out of me, I never know what to say around ya :laugh:. So fag is ok, but not faggot and queer and homo is fine?

For me, "fag" is not that big of a deal- other homosexuals may have issues with it. I've never really gotten into "queer" all that much. "Homo" doesn't bother me at all. "Faggot" is always bitter.

Same deal with women, ya know. Let's see if I can translate it into womanspeak...

"faggot" = "****"

"fag" = "broad"

"queer" = "feminist" <---- there's not a very good translation for that one

"homo" = "chick"

"cocksucker" = "slut"

Does it make more sense now? Of course, these translations are in American not Canadian, so, I'm not sure if it'll work. ;):p

Great comparisons. :nod: But Theresa should probably get out her Canadian-American dictionary.

:laugh: :thumbsup: Yes that makes sense, even in Canadian. So faggot = ****, wow, I can see why that stings.

I have always thought Washington was/is an ass. He could not disappear from this show soon enough for me.

I never liked him either, even before all this happened. I know how they could write him out, they need to have his character come out as gay and then be killed by gay bashers.

How about the thing where the coach tells the boy's football team that they looked like a bunch of girls out there? I've always found comments like that curious. It would be great if the next practice they showed up with purses and bows in their hair!

Some women call people dinks, pricks or dicks a lot. Okay, I have used prick myself on occaision. I don't think it's as bad as calling me the c word though for some reason, funny how we all have our readings of what is offensive. A lot of old songs mention being gay as a good and happy thing, and then for a long time it was not...

Inappropriate language aside, I'm continually surprised that no one (media, I mean) is mentioning that there was also violence associated with this incident. And other incidents in Washington's past of violence against castmates.

He should have been fired, and arrested, for that alone.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: You slay me.

I think they will, judging from the reactions, it seems clear he hasn't any support from the studio or the rest of the cast.

I don't know if he's good in Grey's Anatomy (I don't watch it) but considering some of his previous roles, I can't say he impressed me.

Romy