Celebrity Feuds
GLAAD Unhappy with Isaiah Washington

Isaiah WashingtonThe Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is demanding an apology from "Grey's Anatomy" star Isaiah Washington for continually making homophobic remarks. In the past four months, Washington has used the offensive term "faggot" twice in reference to co-star T.R. Knight.

In a statement to TMZ, GLAAD President Neil Giuliano said, "When Isaiah Washington uses this kind of anti-gay slur - whether on set or in front of the press - it does more than create a hostile environment for his castmates and the crew of 'Grey's Anatomy.' It also feeds a climate of hatred and intolerance that contributes to putting our community in harm's way. Washington's repeated use of it on-set and in the media is simply inexcusable."

In an interview at Monday's Golden Globes, Washington denied using the offensive term by ... using the offensive term. "No, I did not call T.R. a faggot." Knight then went on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and confirmed that Washington did, in fact, use the term on the "Grey's" set in October.

GLAAD has contacted Washington in hopes of setting up a meeting with the embattled actor. Giuliano added, "We want to sit down with him and give him an opportunity to raise public awareness about the destructive impact of these kinds of anti-gay slurs. Over the past four months Washington has become part of a significant problem of anti-gay prejudice in this country. He now has an opportunity to be part of the solution."

Reps for "Grey's Anatomy" could not be immediately reached.



Filed under: TV, Celebrity Feuds

Reader Comments

(Page 7 of 7)Previous 15 Comments

91. I love how he can get away with this, but when someone makes a slur about someone's RACE, they get in serious trouble with the public.

How is this different? How is this much better?

Posted at 8:59PM on Jan 18th 2007 by choochoo

92. Maybe he should be proud to be a faggot if thats what he is!!

Posted at 9:29PM on Jan 18th 2007 by hank

93. Everyone needs to get over this and the whole Michael Richards thing. I'm not saying it's right to go around and use words that could be offensive to others but this is America....which means..FREEDOM OF SPEECH. People talk about blondes being dumb and they call my husband a "Camel Jockey" because he's Arabic. He laughs about it because he knows that the people just don't know him. He also says that this is America...do whatever you want. I think all the people that raise such a fuss over this stuff need to take those words to heart.

Posted at 1:37PM on Jan 19th 2007 by D

94. Awww, what a pitty. Who cares what he says about whomever!!First, its his opinion, not facts. Second, one will only be offended if one chooses to be. Third, who cares about what actors and actresses do anyway. They are all so fake, I feel sorry for them.

Posted at 6:05PM on Jan 19th 2007 by Hot Dog Bun

95. I think that Isaiah should be written out of the show. Don't feel he makes much of a contribution and only causes bad vibes.

Posted at 10:13AM on Jan 20th 2007 by jaki

96. Isaiah should be fired and quickly before the show suffers anymore. I agree with comment #13 - he should also apologize even though he should be written off the show. Mel did and Michael - not to mention the Pope for his insensitivity towards islamics. I'm sure if these (white) guys were forgiven yet. I also hope they don't care - because I sure don't - especially for the Pope who was simply reading someone else's quote. What a world, huh?
But I do care when some cry babies gets hurt over a racial slur and then thinks his slander is ok. So now a black guy puts his foot in his mouth. Let's see what happens here. You can bet that if the "N" word were tossed about , i.e., Michael R, good ol' Jesse Jackson and his posse, the NAACP, would be on it in a flash.

I've read some who call this an American Double standard started by the black community in an attempt to bully the whites. Well, if this Isaiah guy gets away with his homophobic slur, that's just what this situation will be.

Posted at 8:18PM on Jan 20th 2007 by sues

97. To comment on # 12. For starters, the word faggot is derogative. It is meant to hurt someone or belittle them. If someone calls me gay, then no, I would not be upset because that is a part of who I am. But if someone calls me a faggot, they just might have a fight on there hands. So if you are going to call someone a faggot, you had better make sure it's directed at TR. Anybody else would probably beat the S**t out of you.

Posted at 6:55PM on Jan 21st 2007 by queencityboy

98. I wonder what would have happened if T.R. Knight would have called Isaiah Washington a nigger. Would ABC have had the same reaction and done absolutely nothing about it?

I think not.

Hate speech is still A-OK as long as it's against gay people.

Posted at 3:11PM on Jan 22nd 2007 by John

99. Isaiah Washington is my HERO, God Bless his beautiful Soul. As a man I would love to hug him in the European way...not San Francisco way. It is so pity that in a free country like US, people still are not allowed to speak their minds out, and must prostitute themselves and ask for forgiveness. I never liked Knight, he is the weakest link from the Grey’s Anatomy, he is not convincing in his role and his pulling the whole show down, this is one of the reasons I prefer House over Gray’s (which I stopped wathing it).

Posted at 2:07PM on Jan 25th 2007 by why

100. fire him

Posted at 11:15PM on Jan 26th 2007 by tufe

101. I just really don't care. As far as I'm concerned, it was a slow news day when it happend. It was wrong, but it's over. Everyone needs to shut up and move on.

Posted at 10:55PM on Jan 28th 2007 by Kates

102. I find it amazing that we always find time to ruin a black man's reputation and carreer. How big of a deal was it when Kramer when on a tirade about 'niggers' and offended an entire race? How did the gay community get more pull than an entire race of people? Money? Did anyone even bother to watch the Kramer tirade which was caught on tape? (you can see it on youtube.com). Mel Gibson made anti-semitic remarks; was he sent to counseling for being a drunk or being a jerk? is he banned from producing movies? You think our President hasn't said a dumb remark or two or three? He hasn't been impeached. Do we hold actors to a higher standard of conduct than our politicians? You wouldn't find this many comments on a political forum. Get over it.

Posted at 10:07AM on Feb 2nd 2007 by jade

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