Will Washington Controversy, ABC's Late Reaction Hurt Grey's Anatomy? Comments (Page 2)
26 Comments
Amy
January 31st, 2007 8:10 PM
I am glad that Shonda Rhimes spends more time thinking about what is going to come out of IW's mouth than he apparenty does. What he said wasn't an accident it was diliberate and probably taught as we know hate is learned behavior. People don't get to choose where they come from or how they grow up people don't get to choose the color of their skin or their sexual preferences but we do get to choose to be tolerant and more than that we get to choose to accept people for who they are. IW chooses to think the way he does and we all have the right not to so let'sl rejoice in our ability to choose not to. On the other hand, (and I have thought alot about this not just due to the controversy but due to learning to be tolerant of my father's points of view while completely disagreeing with him) we cannot expect people like IW to be tolerant of other people if we are not also tolerant of people like IW. Moreover we cannot teach tolerence and acceptance if we do not tolerate and accept.
Carla
January 31st, 2007 2:15 PM
I am glad that IW will be back. I think people too often mistake the actors' characters with their own iddenties.
sassy
January 31st, 2007 2:12 PM
I have kept up with this situation with IW since the beginning. This is by far the best website and article I have read and I have read a lot of them. I have looked at the video a thousand times of IW interviews. I do think the night of the Globes on his part was not a good decision when he grabbed the microphone and made his statement.
They were not talking to him but Shonda. He reacted before thinking which we all do sometimes. I work hard on a daily basis not to do that with my husband and my kids. Its not easy. But sometimes I do overreact and say things I regret and shouldn't have said. I tell them I am sorry and they have forgiven me many times.
I don't think IW INTENTIONS were to hurt anyone that night. He made a bad judgement call. I don't agree that TR was forced out of the closet. I think he used this as an opportunity or excuse to come out. I read everyday people calling Clay Aiken gay and has yet to say anything and a lot of people are convinced he is and
WMK
January 31st, 2007 7:55 AM
I think all of the hoopla surrounding the comments allegedly made by Isaiah Washington needs to stop. He apologized for what was said. I think the entire situation was probably overblown from the beginning. I don't think we need to know what conversations take place behind the scenes of a show.
I think that we should all learn to be more tolerant of the personal choices of others, however, I don't think that if someone makes a poor judgement call and uses a derogatory term, they should be fired. The punishment just does not fit the offense. If he does not do a good job on the show, then he should be disciplined. But how he feels or doesn't feel as a person should not impact his employment. Acting, to me, is like any other form of employment. You should be judged on how well you perform your assigned job. Isaiah Washington is an outstanding actor and I have followed his work for many years. I would hope that the producers would look at his talent and not his politics.
mj
January 30th, 2007 8:12 PM
We teach our chiildren that if you do or say something wrong, you apology. If you don't want to forgive, then that's your choice, but it doesn't make you better, just more hateful.
The Rev
January 30th, 2007 5:08 PM
I don't think TR Knight "came out of the closet", I think he was publicly "outed" for shock value from an angry co-worker. Straight people don't have to "come out of the closet" and say who they are intimate with, so why do we label this for gay people? How about "everyone is entitled to their personal privacy, and whether someone is straight or gay should be such an insignificant part of who they are as a person and what it is about them that we hold value as being", and angry rude ugly words like faggott should fall into the same category as nigger …..NOT ACCEPTABLE - NO ROOM IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR IT, AND PEOPLE WHO USE THESE WORDS SHOULD BE "OUTED" FROM BEING A PART OF ANY PUBLIC PROFESSION. I don't want to hear it, and I don't want my kids to hear it. TR Knight is entitled to his privacy at whatever level he is comfortable, and the choice of what he discloses to others should be owned entirely by him. Washington should be fired. Counseling does nothing for that ugly part de
Brian
January 30th, 2007 4:12 PM
Saying IW used the 'wrong word' to describe homosexual men is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I suppose you would say that Micheal Richards used the 'wrong word' to describe african americans. IW has a LONG history of having a temper on the set (well before Grey's Anatomy) with verbal and physical assults on other actors. If ABC has any balls, they would fire him. What bothers me, is when they talk about who should replace him, they always suggest another african american male. What's up with that?
ibag
January 30th, 2007 2:49 PM
Great post and THANKS! I'm so sick of reading and hearing about Isaiah being a bigot,what should ABC do about him?, etc. ABC shouldn't think of doing anything besides moving on. I'm sure there are several other networks who would LOVE to pick up Grey's Anatomy & allow humans to make some mistakes.
He simply chose the wrong description/word for "homosexual men", hell I know people that still call them sissies, "chemically addicted"=Junkies, "lesbians"=Dykes, LOL :)
you can't keep up with the politically correct language, it changes almost daily.
Unfortunately, we've become a society that tries to CONTROL EVERYONE and EVERYTHING . . .who amongst us hasn't said, done or thought something we regretted later?. . . give me a break
again . . .GREAT POST
Kathleen Johnson
January 30th, 2007 10:49 AM
I think he was extremely wrong in his behavior and that it is totally inexcusable!! He grew up in the sixties and when blacks were in the throws of getting equal rights. He had to have grown up knowing what it was like living in a white persons world back then, being looked at as being different! He should look back on those times when he felt like an outcast due to the color of his skin! He no more chose to being born a black kid back then as did any gay choose to being born gay in a straight society! He of all people should know what it feels like to be looked down on for being different and always having to prove yourself!! NO ONE asks to be born gay and live in a world of bigots that are going to be mean to you and possible kill you for being different (remember Matthew Shepard)!! I being a Mother to a 33 year old daughter that is gay, there isn't a day or night that goes by that I don't worry about her being hurt emotionally or physically for something she can't help (SHE CAN'T CH
Lynn
January 29th, 2007 7:43 PM
Have y'all seen the item on MSNBC.com referring to the possibility that TR might leave the show? I hope, hope, hope that it is only picking up on a rumor - especially after the incredible performances that he's given this season. I think he has really come into his own as an actor, and the character is really getting some depth. Frankly, I'd hate to see anyone leave, but I can see how it would be difficult to continue the quality performance as an ensemble if one or more of the cast was uncomfortable......I just hope they can work it out.
McNasty Social Worker
January 29th, 2007 3:04 PM
Well said Burke Backer...I agree 100%!
Lou
January 28th, 2007 8:30 PM
Yes, Isaiah Washington's slur is unfortunate, and he should be held accountable. However, the show is the thing. Are we supposed to think that every cast gets along? I want to see Dr. Preston Burke. Washington's politics, and what he thinks of homosexuals, doesn't have anything to do with his portrayal of Dr. Burke. Hopefully, Shonda Rhimes will continue to write wonderful lines for him and not back away from the character, who is crucial to the story. If she can write T.R. Knight as a heterosexual sex machine, she can write anything.
Vee
January 28th, 2007 6:46 PM
Great post, Burker Backer. I agree with everythng you said, and IW is not a bigot. He's been in the business more than 20 years. If that was true, we would have seen some signs long before now. I'll always be a supporter of IW - 100%.
purplemerder
January 28th, 2007 5:30 PM
I agree with you burke backer i can't wait until this all goes away.......no more name calling
Burke Backer
January 27th, 2007 9:15 PM
This is one of the first columnist that is speaking with some degree of objectivity, right up until he called Isaiah a bigot. There is no history of bigotry in this man's past. You can bet if there was it would have surfaced by now. He called someone a name in the heat of the moment. Everyone needs to get a little perspective. Name calling is not uncommon and neither does it reflect what is a person't heart nor does it maim anyone for life. It wasn't a nice thing to do, but it wasn't criminal either. This is the down side of the electronic age. Everyone knows more than they need to and yet not enough to make a rationale judgment about the situation so they leap to conclusions with very little evidence to go on. I do hope that in time everyone immediately involved can forgive each other and the rest of us can get over it so that everyone including Isaiah stays on the show. If we can believe George is a heteosexual male who is currently a sex addict with Callie, we should be a
purplemerder
January 27th, 2007 10:28 AM
I totaly agree with this article....i think that they are all wonderful actors and actress' and they will be able to do their job no matter what....and until it starts to make the show fall then why should we care....as long as they continue to deliver awesome shows like they are have i think we should all let this die down and sit on our couches and enjoy the show.
Meredith: Get this baby out of me safely and you can have whatever you want.
January 31st, 2007 8:10 PM
I am glad that Shonda Rhimes spends more time thinking about what is going to come out of IW's mouth than he apparenty does. What he said wasn't an accident it was diliberate and probably taught as we know hate is learned behavior. People don't get to choose where they come from or how they grow up people don't get to choose the color of their skin or their sexual preferences but we do get to choose to be tolerant and more than that we get to choose to accept people for who they are. IW chooses to think the way he does and we all have the right not to so let'sl rejoice in our ability to choose not to. On the other hand, (and I have thought alot about this not just due to the controversy but due to learning to be tolerant of my father's points of view while completely disagreeing with him) we cannot expect people like IW to be tolerant of other people if we are not also tolerant of people like IW. Moreover we cannot teach tolerence and acceptance if we do not tolerate and accept.
January 31st, 2007 2:15 PM
I am glad that IW will be back. I think people too often mistake the actors' characters with their own iddenties.
January 31st, 2007 2:12 PM
I have kept up with this situation with IW since the beginning. This is by far the best website and article I have read and I have read a lot of them. I have looked at the video a thousand times of IW interviews. I do think the night of the Globes on his part was not a good decision when he grabbed the microphone and made his statement.
They were not talking to him but Shonda. He reacted before thinking which we all do sometimes. I work hard on a daily basis not to do that with my husband and my kids. Its not easy. But sometimes I do overreact and say things I regret and shouldn't have said. I tell them I am sorry and they have forgiven me many times.
I don't think IW INTENTIONS were to hurt anyone that night. He made a bad judgement call. I don't agree that TR was forced out of the closet. I think he used this as an opportunity or excuse to come out. I read everyday people calling Clay Aiken gay and has yet to say anything and a lot of people are convinced he is and
January 31st, 2007 7:55 AM
I think all of the hoopla surrounding the comments allegedly made by Isaiah Washington needs to stop. He apologized for what was said. I think the entire situation was probably overblown from the beginning. I don't think we need to know what conversations take place behind the scenes of a show.
I think that we should all learn to be more tolerant of the personal choices of others, however, I don't think that if someone makes a poor judgement call and uses a derogatory term, they should be fired. The punishment just does not fit the offense. If he does not do a good job on the show, then he should be disciplined. But how he feels or doesn't feel as a person should not impact his employment. Acting, to me, is like any other form of employment. You should be judged on how well you perform your assigned job. Isaiah Washington is an outstanding actor and I have followed his work for many years. I would hope that the producers would look at his talent and not his politics.
January 30th, 2007 8:12 PM
We teach our chiildren that if you do or say something wrong, you apology. If you don't want to forgive, then that's your choice, but it doesn't make you better, just more hateful.
January 30th, 2007 5:08 PM
I don't think TR Knight "came out of the closet", I think he was publicly "outed" for shock value from an angry co-worker. Straight people don't have to "come out of the closet" and say who they are intimate with, so why do we label this for gay people? How about "everyone is entitled to their personal privacy, and whether someone is straight or gay should be such an insignificant part of who they are as a person and what it is about them that we hold value as being", and angry rude ugly words like faggott should fall into the same category as nigger …..NOT ACCEPTABLE - NO ROOM IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR IT, AND PEOPLE WHO USE THESE WORDS SHOULD BE "OUTED" FROM BEING A PART OF ANY PUBLIC PROFESSION. I don't want to hear it, and I don't want my kids to hear it. TR Knight is entitled to his privacy at whatever level he is comfortable, and the choice of what he discloses to others should be owned entirely by him. Washington should be fired. Counseling does nothing for that ugly part de
January 30th, 2007 4:12 PM
Saying IW used the 'wrong word' to describe homosexual men is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I suppose you would say that Micheal Richards used the 'wrong word' to describe african americans. IW has a LONG history of having a temper on the set (well before Grey's Anatomy) with verbal and physical assults on other actors. If ABC has any balls, they would fire him. What bothers me, is when they talk about who should replace him, they always suggest another african american male. What's up with that?
January 30th, 2007 2:49 PM
Great post and THANKS! I'm so sick of reading and hearing about Isaiah being a bigot,what should ABC do about him?, etc. ABC shouldn't think of doing anything besides moving on. I'm sure there are several other networks who would LOVE to pick up Grey's Anatomy & allow humans to make some mistakes.
He simply chose the wrong description/word for "homosexual men", hell I know people that still call them sissies, "chemically addicted"=Junkies, "lesbians"=Dykes, LOL :)
you can't keep up with the politically correct language, it changes almost daily.
Unfortunately, we've become a society that tries to CONTROL EVERYONE and EVERYTHING . . .who amongst us hasn't said, done or thought something we regretted later?. . . give me a break
again . . .GREAT POST
January 30th, 2007 10:49 AM
I think he was extremely wrong in his behavior and that it is totally inexcusable!! He grew up in the sixties and when blacks were in the throws of getting equal rights. He had to have grown up knowing what it was like living in a white persons world back then, being looked at as being different! He should look back on those times when he felt like an outcast due to the color of his skin! He no more chose to being born a black kid back then as did any gay choose to being born gay in a straight society! He of all people should know what it feels like to be looked down on for being different and always having to prove yourself!! NO ONE asks to be born gay and live in a world of bigots that are going to be mean to you and possible kill you for being different (remember Matthew Shepard)!! I being a Mother to a 33 year old daughter that is gay, there isn't a day or night that goes by that I don't worry about her being hurt emotionally or physically for something she can't help (SHE CAN'T CH
January 29th, 2007 7:43 PM
Have y'all seen the item on MSNBC.com referring to the possibility that TR might leave the show? I hope, hope, hope that it is only picking up on a rumor - especially after the incredible performances that he's given this season. I think he has really come into his own as an actor, and the character is really getting some depth. Frankly, I'd hate to see anyone leave, but I can see how it would be difficult to continue the quality performance as an ensemble if one or more of the cast was uncomfortable......I just hope they can work it out.
January 29th, 2007 3:04 PM
Well said Burke Backer...I agree 100%!
January 28th, 2007 8:30 PM
Yes, Isaiah Washington's slur is unfortunate, and he should be held accountable. However, the show is the thing. Are we supposed to think that every cast gets along? I want to see Dr. Preston Burke. Washington's politics, and what he thinks of homosexuals, doesn't have anything to do with his portrayal of Dr. Burke. Hopefully, Shonda Rhimes will continue to write wonderful lines for him and not back away from the character, who is crucial to the story. If she can write T.R. Knight as a heterosexual sex machine, she can write anything.
January 28th, 2007 6:46 PM
Great post, Burker Backer. I agree with everythng you said, and IW is not a bigot. He's been in the business more than 20 years. If that was true, we would have seen some signs long before now. I'll always be a supporter of IW - 100%.
January 28th, 2007 5:30 PM
I agree with you burke backer i can't wait until this all goes away.......no more name calling
January 27th, 2007 9:15 PM
This is one of the first columnist that is speaking with some degree of objectivity, right up until he called Isaiah a bigot. There is no history of bigotry in this man's past. You can bet if there was it would have surfaced by now. He called someone a name in the heat of the moment. Everyone needs to get a little perspective. Name calling is not uncommon and neither does it reflect what is a person't heart nor does it maim anyone for life. It wasn't a nice thing to do, but it wasn't criminal either. This is the down side of the electronic age. Everyone knows more than they need to and yet not enough to make a rationale judgment about the situation so they leap to conclusions with very little evidence to go on. I do hope that in time everyone immediately involved can forgive each other and the rest of us can get over it so that everyone including Isaiah stays on the show. If we can believe George is a heteosexual male who is currently a sex addict with Callie, we should be a
January 27th, 2007 10:28 AM
I totaly agree with this article....i think that they are all wonderful actors and actress' and they will be able to do their job no matter what....and until it starts to make the show fall then why should we care....as long as they continue to deliver awesome shows like they are have i think we should all let this die down and sit on our couches and enjoy the show.