Boss Lady Shonda Dishes on Crashing Washington

In an interview with TV Guide, Grey's Anatomy creator and executive producer, Shonda Rhimes finally dishes about firing Isaiah Washington.

Here are some of the hightlights:

How difficult was it for you to let Isaiah go, on a personal level?
It wasn't. It was a decision that was a long time coming, and it felt like it was the right decision for all of us.

So the decision to fire Isaiah was not something that was imposed on you?
The great thing about [ABC Studios head] Mark Pedowitz and [ABC president] Steve McPherson is they never imposed anything on me.

Would you have written the season finale differently if that stuff hadn't happened during the season?
I wrote the season-ender exactly as I planned to write the season-ender. What's kind of amazing is the season-ender finished the story of Preston Burke and really paid tribute to that character and to the talent of Isaiah Washington in a way that made sense. But it also went exactly where our show was planning to go anyway.

I don't know if I buy this answer.

In retrospect, do you wish you had spoken out sooner about the whole thing?
Here's the thing: I know for you guys it's incredibly frustrating that I didn't say something. And I'm kind of sorry, because I know you guys have stories to tell. For me, the story we have to tell is the story of the show, and my instinct when something like this happened is to sort of close the doors and hunker down with people who are my family and protect them as much as possible. The outside world became far less important to me than those people I work with every day, and making sure that those people I work with are OK. I wasn't worried about the outside world. The outside world's not something that I can control. But the people I work with every day were. And I really was spending my time dealing with that, not dealing with whether or not I should make a statement.

Hhhhmmmm....somebody got an attitude! Shonda was getting a little stink on some of those questions. I could almost see her neck rolling. It's obvious she was not feeling Washington at all because there wasn't a hint of remorse in these answers.

For the full interview click here.

Isaiah Washington: "Why Me?" Because you said it!

"I felt sorry for myself. I'm not going to lie. I felt sorry for myself many times. You fall into that little space and go, 'Why me? Why me?'"


Last night, Isaiah Washington gave us the best acting of his life during his first TV interview since the whole "faggot" incident on the set of his ex-gig, Grey's Anatomy. But he has been practicing this script for months now so it was no surprise to me how well he handled himself on Larry King Live.

Even now without the ABC gag, Washington really didnt say much of anything new. However, he did admit that he attempted to quit the program twice but ABC insisted he stay and follow their rules, including going to "homohobe rehab". So of course he was much surprised when at season end he got the boot.

I gather ABC appeased(used) Isaiah until the writers could successfully write him out of the show. For this I do sympathize with his ordeal. This is no different than when your employers have every intentions of firing you but make you work the full day before crashing you minutes before the close of the work day. Now that would piss me off too! And then to make matters worse, he can't even get a decent referral. Hence the campaign to clear his name.

While this saga is annoying and the campaign is seemingly pointless, I do believe he should not have been let go for this foolishness. But I don't work on the set of this show so who knows what tension still lurks after this whole ordeal. Maybe someone had to be let go. And isn't it always the angry black man?

Isaiah Still Bitchin! - Takes ABC Beef to Larry King Live

So it seems in effort to rehabilitate his tarnished image, Isaiah Washington formerly of ABC's hit TV dramedy "Grey's Anatomy" has been on ole campaign as of late chatting up the whole "faggot" incident YET AGAIN!


Tonight on Larry King Live, for the first time on TV, Isaiah will give us his side of the story in this hour long interview. Personally I can't imagine what the man will have to say that we haven't heard already. But now that ABC's gag on Washington (who knew?) has expired he has already began bitchin' to whomever will listen. According to the New York Daily Post, Washington has already completed three interviews. Click here to read his last interview on newsweek.com.

All I want to know is why, Isaiah?

Yes, I can imagine the need for Isaiah to clear his name because now he will always be known as the homophobe who lost his big ABC gig on the most popular dramedy today. But once cleared then what? Do you think you will get your job back and if so, after all this beef would you want it? Or better yet, do you think this campaign will help keep you off the unemployment line as casting directors will sympathize with your story and not begrudge you any future TV roles?

I personally thinks he needs to end this campaign now before he does anymore damage to his already tarnished image. I think Hollywood would still prefer to work with a homophobe over an angry black man anyday.

You can catch Isaiah's Larry King interview tonight at 9/8 PM Central on CNN. Click here for a sneak peak.

You're Fired: Isaiah Washington Update

The word is out! Isaiah Washington has been canned by ABC's Grey's Anatomy!


Just a few weeks back it was rumored the actor would be returning to the popular series in the Fall but the scoop is out. He was let go.

No need to rehash this saga. Read more about it here.

Paging Dr. Burke...

Rumor has it Dr. Burke will be answering his pages next year when he returns for the Fall season of "ABC's Grey's Anatomy".


As you may recall, Isiah Washington was in hot water earlier this year when it leaked that he used a gay slur during an argument with fellow co-star, T.R. Knight. After much to do about nothing, the actor re-hashed all the drama when he chose to re-use the same slur while defending himself at the most recent Golden Globes. Washington was then said to be receiving "treatment" after this incident.

I still ask, what rehab exists for dirty mouths?

Anyhoo, The New York Post has reported that Washington will be back in the Fall from a "source close to production".

On last week's season finale, Dr. Burke left Christina (Sandra Oh) at the altar after her repeated acts of hesitations to getting married. He not only left the church, but packed up and left their love shack as well. It is this dramatic ending that posed the question in the first place as to whether or not Dr. Burke would be returning next season.

To watch last week's season finale click here.

Black Doctors Give You Drama! It's true.

Is it me or are there more black doctors on TV nowadays than ever? We have certainly come a long way since The Cosby Show's Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable ruled Thursday nights.


Just last week it was announced that Taye Diggs would be joining the cast of a potential spin-off to ABC's Grey's Anatomy. While no details have been confirmed on the character Diggs is set to be portraying, my guess is he will be dawning a pair of scrubs too. But hold up! What happened to ABC's Day Break? I guess just like Kevin Hill..it too has been cancelled. And how does this Diggs keep getting offers for male leads? This man has more lives on Tv than my pet cat.



I dont know. But while my script calls for a black male lead...I hope it doesn't end up being Diggs. I would like my show to make it past the first season. (ouch!)

This latest news had me thinking about how many black doctors we have come to love over the past few years. Eriq La Salle, Michael Michele, Mekhi Phifer, Omar Epps, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr. and Isaiah Washington, just to name a few. While medical shows never used to be my favorite, both NBC's ER and Grey's Anatomy have had me glued to the tube shouting "CLEAR!"

Grey's Anatomy is the latest hospital drama series to take Thursday night ratings by storm. Recently I have become hooked on the this show. (Yeah I'm late..sue me!) The writing is great and offers more than just heart wrenching stories that plague hospitals on a daily basis. I love the way the daily issues of the cast are weaved into the daily ongoings at the hospital. This aspect of the show's writing is my favorite. It's definitely noted as I am struggling to make sure the setting by which my script takes place plays just as a significant role to the various plots I am developing. Not easy I might add.

Anyhoo, turns out Isaiah Washington (Dr. Preston Burke) just won the NAACP Image Awards for Best Actor in a Television Drama last weekend. I guess using the "F" word (not the four letter word) wasn't enough to prevent him from winning. But seriously, in all fairness, if he in fact was the best actor who did his thing once the director called 'action' then by all means doesn't he deserve the award?

(Washington Strikes a Pose?)

But what about the 'image' part of this award? Isn't part of winning this award based on your image? And is the image of someone who has no problem saying a word that offends a large community of people on camera someone to aspire to be like?

All I want to know is? Were there any gay men on the NAACP judging committee? And if so, did he get their vote?

Enquiring minds want to know!