“Grey’s Anatomy” lost cast member Isaiah Washington after he made an anti-gay statement about co-worker T.R. Knight. Washington is now defending himself and saying ABC made a mistake and “fired the wrong guy.”
The actor tells all to his hometown newspaper the Houston Chronicle. “They fired the wrong guy,” he says. “I have to clear my name. I’ll start from the beginning. I’m telling everything.”
Washington, 43, sparked controversy after he got into an on-set argument with co-star Patrick Dempsey where he allegedly called T.R. Knight a “faggot.”
Washington apologized and checked into rehab. He even met with gay leaders and filmed a public service announcement where he said “words have power” to “hurt or heal.”
Washington told the Chronicles Knight should be blamed for saying the term was used against him and that the whole argument was misconstrued. “That’s a lie. I used the word during an argument with Patrick. I apologized for that. We shook hands and went back to work,’ Washington said.
Knight announced in January that the slur made him go public with the fact that he is gay. "I've never been called that to my face. So I think when that happened, something shifted, and it became bigger than myself,” he told Ellen DeGeneres on her show.
Washington expressed that he might file a lawsuit because he feels as though he was the one wronged. "My livelihood, my honor and dignity and my name have been so challenged,” he said. "I was not fired for making homophobic slurs. I did everything I said I would do. I offered to go to counseling, to do a public service announcement. I wanted everyone to know I was remorseful."
Washington insists that the problems have not made him angry but he feels he was done wrong and the truth was not told about the situation. “I’m not angry. I’m disappointed,” Washington adds.
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