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The Martyrdom of Isaiah

Jill

I love me some Grey’s Anatomy, but Isaiah Washington sure has a talent for acting like an ass and then feeling sorry for himself.. He did an interview on Larry King Live to clarify his use of the word “faggot” during a fight with McDreamy. He says:

WASHINGTON: He got un — became unhinged, face-to-face, spittle to spittle, in my face — first. I did not start it. And I’m asking him why is he screaming at me, why are we doing this? Get out of my face. Several times. Several times. And he just becomes irate. But I’m not understanding why am I being berated to this point in front of our crew, particularly after what we experienced in Seattle. You know, I mean, I think you owe me on apology and I’m being berated.

And by that time I pushed him out of my face and it just took off from there and I began to say a lot of — a lot of things that I’m not really proud of — but all referring to myself and how I felt I was being treated.

KING: But how did the bad word come out of that?

WASHINGTON: Well, I said several bad words, as well as he did.

KING: To him?

WASHINGTON: To him about how I was feeling. I said there’s no way you’re going to treat me like a “B” word or a “P” word or the “F” word. You can’t treat me this way in front of our crew.

KING: So you weren’t referring to him as being an F person?

WASHINGTON: Never. Never. KING: Or anybody else being one?

WASHINGTON: Never, Larry.

Never, never, never, never,

KING: You said you can’t treat me like a —

WASHINGTON: No.

KING: What was the word you used?

WASHINGTON: The “B” word was —

KING: All right. You don’t want to —

WASHINGTON: — indicative of maybe a four-legged dog —

KING: OK.

WASHINGTON: — or a four-legged dog. And the “P” word would be more like punk, things like that. It’s just that I felt at that point there was no place of return —

KING: And the “F” word meaning he was treating you like a gay person?

WASHINGTON: No. Just, in terms of the way I meant it is that any — the “F” word to me, at that particular time, before this took off in this other direction, in terms of sexual orientation, it meant something — it meant, to me, someone who is being weak —

KING: Oh.

WASHINGTON: — a person who is not being treated — is not deserving of respect.

KING: You weren’t referring to any other cast member?

WASHINGTON: No, no, no.

Ahhh ok. So you weren’t calling another cast member a faggot, you were just saying that faggots are weak and you are not weak. And you weren’t referring to an actual “f-person” (as Larry put it) or anything! And you certainly aren’t a bitch or a pussy — words which you no doubt meant only as references to four-legged dogs* and kitty cats, and which is no way reflect misogyny any more than using the word “faggot” reflects homophobia.

Thanks to Christina for the link.

*Yeah, he apparently thinks that the term “bitch” is related to the numer of legs a canine is walking on. Read the transcript.

22 thoughts on The Martyrdom of Isaiah

  1. Makes me happier that the show felt it appropriate to fire the motherfucking asshole (or, for Larry King, the “m-ing-f-ing a-word”…gahd, I hate the childish nature of television language).

  2. Interesting… cause T.R. Knight said on Ellen that he heard Washington call HIM (T.R.) a fagot. And I doubt that other cast members who heard it would be taking T.R.’s side if it wasn’t true.

  4. Okay, whatever happened to just apologizing? To saying, I was wrong, I regret what I said, I am trying to hard to better myself and overcome my shortcomings… blah blah blah….

    I mean, I can just imagine his handlers, who have spent days/weeks briefing him on how to recover from this thing, sitting in the Larry King studio cringing with every word he said.

    Because if he can’t genuinely be remorseful, you would think that at least he would be smart enough to fake remorse, at least from the selfish standpoint of salvaging his career. Even Paris Hilton knew how to work her Larry King slot.

    So I agree with Shira…. he’s a Moran.

  7. Wow, the cache that gets lent to events of so little relevance never fails to boggle me.

    Now, if Washington were to get in a ro-sham-bo contest with Paris Hilton while guest hosting American Idol, that might be worth talking about.

    I take that back, no it would still be asinine.

  8. Wow, the cache that gets lent to events of so little relevance never fails to boggle me.

    Now, if Washington were to get in a ro-sham-bo contest with Paris Hilton while guest hosting American Idol, that might be worth talking about.

    I take that back, no it would still be asinine.

  10. eek! Washington needs, like, Frank Luntz or George Lakoff on his team, like, right now. “No, no, I didn’t JUST say faggot, I aslo said bitch and pussy! I didn’t just imply that it’d be horrible to be seen as a gay person, but also as a woman!”

    I kind of thought the whole hoopla surrounding Washington was overblown at first, but he just keeps doing things to make it worse and worse himself …

  11. eek! Washington needs, like, Frank Luntz or George Lakoff on his team, like, right now. “No, no, I didn’t JUST say faggot, I aslo said bitch and pussy! I didn’t just imply that it’d be horrible to be seen as a gay person, but also as a woman!”

    I kind of thought the whole hoopla surrounding Washington was overblown at first, but he just keeps doing things to make it worse and worse himself …

  13. Pingback: Isaiah: fire your PR person NOW « yellow is the color…

  14. I believe what we’re seeing from Mr. Washington here is referred to as the “China Defense.” My wife accuses me of it all the time. It happens when you’ve managed to dig yourself a hole and you somehow come under the delusion that if you keep digging you’ll eventually make it to the other side.

  15. Well, he can say whatever he wants now, he’s all fired. And frankly, as big an ass as he’s been, I think the way they fired him was shitty. “Do this, do that, apologize several times or else we’ll fire you.” So he does this, does that, apologizes several times, and then they fire him.

    Why he’s still fighting this war is beyond me, but I don’t think there’s any good guys in the fight.

  16. didn’t he get into a fight – literally – with patrick dempsey, and end up with his hands around dempsey’s throat? this guy should look into some anger management programs before he really gets into trouble (i.e., someone who can and will kick his ass).

  17. On the NPR program “News & Notes,” which is oriented towards issues in the African-American community, there was a story on Washington in which he blamed his termination on race. He cited plenty of instances where white actors and television personalities were excused for multiple incidences, but as a black actor, he was given no such chances. While I think his making excuses is deplorable, the race issue is something to think about. I wonder if it came up during this interview, but didnt make it into the blog post?

  18. I agree with jen. I’ve worked hollyweird, and lots of homophobes there. Minority actors/workers get publicity and get canned over stuff that wouldn’t even make public circulation for white actors.

    Jesus christ, I can name you some top actors that use the f- word like nobody’s business and not in a nice way.

    So, Isaiah was being an a-hole. However, lots of other a-holes never even get punished. There is a huge amount of racism, sexism and homophobia in Hollyweird, it’s all wring, but minorities always get the first and most shaft.

  19. I wonder if it came up during this interview, but didnt make it into the blog post?

    I linked to the transcript of the interview, and you’re welcome to peruse it…

  21. So, Isaiah was being an a-hole. However, lots of other a-holes never even get punished. There is a huge amount of racism, sexism and homophobia in Hollyweird, it’s all wring, but minorities always get the first and most shaft.

    I can’t help thinking that part of the problem is that the showrunner for “Grey’s Anatomy,” Shonda Rimes, is the only black woman at that level in American television. In fact, she’s the first black woman to create and run a TV show, IIRC. So she may have been forced** to show that her loyalties lay with the show, not with Washington.

    ** I don’t mean “forced” as in, “they explicitly made her do it.” I mean “forced” as in, “If I side with Isaiah, I will never have this chance again, and it will make it harder for any other black woman to get to the same level.” Which is a sucky-ass way to have to make a decision.

  22. The problem with Grey’s Anatomy is that the show is about the most self-centered, self-obessed group of people in the history of television serials. All the docs, with the exception of Bailey and the Chief, are always whining about either their love lives or how hard their work is or something. Give me a break!!!

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