Isaiah Washington blames "the media" for his firing

What surprises me is how everyone focuses on the slur, and forgets that he also CHOKED A CO-WORKER. And apparently has had a history of violence/anger on other sets. That right there is reason enough to fire him, let alone the slur. And then lying about using the slur. My gosh. How anyone defends this guy is beyond me!

Why did a public apology need to be made in the first place? Does that do anything for T.R. Knight? more so then a private apology or them talking and it NOT getting ridiculous media coverage?

Yeah there was a slur involved and it was wrong I will not disagree with that. But I will say that this whole event got caught up in two different minority factions. No it's not some "mafia" or that sort of thing, but it became a silly issue, especially once the Media asks about it at what SHOULD be a night of celebration. How can they deal with it when everyone else seems to know better what should be done? Then cast members comment. This was poorly handled. IW's Character was a very well written one and to not handle it in a way that keeps the character is disappointing. If Washington's behavior was a problem then fine let him go. But please can we stop the arm-chair quarterbacking of this whole situation? Or deciding that the article we read about him made him appear arrogant? For goodness sake its an article ABOUT HIMSELF. He goes between the 3rd person as a way to make a point. This is silliness.


Maybe once THIS is dealt with they'll write it better and that'd be GREAT for the show.

He would have gotten more attention if he'd blamed "the fags in the media."

He and his mouthpiece have made it perfectly clear that all his public "apologies" were solely done to try to keep his job - I never believed any of them and really, who calls people ugly, offensive names if they don't actually hold those types of feelings? No one I know.
And talking in the third person - simply creepy.

You know there was a time when people took responsibility for their actions, they admitted they were wrong.

Nowadays, people just don't fo that at all, now there is always someone else to blame. This time it's the media.

Except that the media hadn't been called a primadonna by other people they've worked with on others shows.

The media didn't shove Patrick Dempsey, or call TR Knight a malious and disrepectful name not once but twice.

The media didn't lye about what he said, and reopened the whole thing.

The media didn't get him fired, he did, and people need to call him on it.

ABC could have a long list of reasons for letting him go, or it could be just the one, it doens't matter. The point is he was let go, and because he keeps blaming everyone esle for what happened he could be limiting his futre career options, and he can't balme the media for that either.

I'm not a huge fan of Heigl either, but maybe she was right. Maybe it's time he just keep his mouth shut.

Cause here's a tip. If you don't talk, the media can't twist anything you say.

Whoops. Sorry Anna, I accidentally referred to you by the name of my other favorite blogger.

Note to self: never work for the same company as bdgc.

I'm 100% sure that if someone used a hateful slur in my office that person would be fired. In a few states it's even against the law and the offended employee can sue if the company fails to take action.

It's called a hostile work environment, and nobody wants to work in one. That's why we have laws that allow the company to fire the person causing the hostile work environment, as opposed to the employee that is being hurt feeling that he/she must quit and look for another job.

I'm far too valuable of an employee to ever work for a company which does not have non-discrimination policies written into it's company handbook. Many businesses voluntarily go beyond federal and state requirements, because by ensuring a non-hostile work environment they can recruit the best candidates (the only substainable advantage) for their workforce.

I agree with Annie, I have yet to see any remorse for the right reasons. He may regret he ever said that because now he has been fired and will have a difficult time finding work, but I have yet to see him indicate that he regrets saying that because it was wrong and hateful.

bgdc you are friggin funny :-)

I looked up "douchebag" in the dictionary too. That's not a slur either, it's the name of a product.

Or "cracker". That's some kind of salted cookie I understand.

And honestly - the f-word is used about 60 different ways in the english language (you can google "the many uses of the f-word" and listen to that bit) you honestly think that when you hit your hand with a hammer and uttering "f***" it's the same as being named a fa**** when that's clearly a demeaning description of a gay man?

Sure. Right.

The truth is, I'm glad he's gone. There was too much stuff about him in the press that it kind of ruined his character for me. When I was supposed to be looking at Preston Burke, I was seeing Isiah Washington and his stupid comment and his dislike of the gay community. Media's fault? Probably. His own fault for saying what he said in the first place? Absolutely.

Either way, I feel sorry for him that he lost his job because of this, but I'm glad he's gone.

What Mr. Washington said was inexcusable and assaulting anyone, anywhere is also inexcusable. What Patrick Dempsey's participation in the incident was his only recourse. But unfortuntely for me, somewhere I wish, deep down he had beaten the crap out of him. Those kind of people only understand that kind of lesson.

What Mr. Washington said at the Golden Globes was so shocking to me my mouth dropped - along with his cast members. Any seasoned member of the entertainment business knows a company is going to quietly wait for a contract to expire. No one could expect to be renewed after that firestorm no matter what remedies were taken -his words were not an act of bad or poor judgement - they were a moral judgement that would reflect on ABC. This wasn't a "mistake" or an "error in judgement." This is an attitude toward a persuasion of society that requires as much acceptance as a race or ethnic background or nationality.