I was very curious to see how long it would take for this to happen, and, it didn't take long. Isaiah Washington is now blaming his firing on racism. Read the entire thing, and let's discuss this. I have to say, I have lost any type of respect that I ever had for Isaiah Washington, after his latest statements.
http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=267322>1=7703
Ex-'Grey's' Star Cites Racism for Firing
Jun 28, 6:17 PM EST
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- "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.
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The man just doesn't get it! It's his actions, his words, and his attitude that got him fired. It doesn't matter that he is black. There are other black people on the show, as well as creator and executive producer, Shonda Rhimes. They haven't been fired. Why is that? If it's truly an issue of race, why are they still there? I'll tell you why, Mr. Washington. Because they do not go around insulting their peers, and attacking them, both physically and verbally. It has nothing to do with the color of your skin! Isaiah Washington seems to think that, because he went through the motions of "apologizing", the world should be handed to him on a silver platter.
Worse, this statement is very disturbing: "
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." Is Isaiah Washington suggesting that Shonda Rhimes, Chandra Wilson, and James Pickens Jr. walk around, acting like this? Is every black actor, producer, director, and other creative talent working in Hollywood acting like this? They must be, otherwise, they wouldn't have a job!
I am so glad that Isaiah Washington is gone from this show! I won't even miss his character, now. He has shown his true face, and it's a very ugly one. He feels that it's okay for him to say and do the things he does, but, when action is taken, he pulls out the race card. I wonder if he feels that Don Imus should have been given a second chance?
The fact of the matter is, Isaiah Washington hasn't learned any lessons from this. I don't think he ever will.