There's a real live homo in the fictional hospital!



Let the feeding frenzy begin!

There was a fight on the set of the show last week between Knight and a male costar and speculation is that it started after the other actor called Knight a f****t.

T.R. Knight ("George") is adorable. That he's gay in real life makes him adorabler.

Good for him! YAY George!

And he is cute too!

I don't watch the show but it seems like a pretty classy way to come out.

When I heard about the fight between Patrick Dempsey and the actor who plays Preston Burke (whose name I can't remember right this second), I also heard Patrick was standing up for T.R. Knight at the time. I thought it might have something to do with the gay rumors.

Good for T.R. Knight (so hard not to just call him George) for handling his coming out in such a classy manner. And IF "Dr. Burke" did call him a f****t, that's pretty funny if you ask me, because I think he's much more effeminate than T.R. Knight. I saw him on Oprah and was shocked when he started talking about his wife and kids.

On a L.A. news show this morning they suggested the same thing. They were saying that the actor who plays Burke said some personal remarks about T.R. Knight because he was late for a scene with Dempsey and him and added some colorful remarks. Dempsey supposedly had enough and the fight began.

colorful remarks?

Good for him. I love that he is comfortable to do it in this way.

If he was like George in real life, I would be all over that... love that goofy, cute imperfect type of guy!!!!

I'm goofy and cute and way imperfect!

It's hard for me to think of another actor who's been so courageous to come out when, one, playing a straight character, and two, he's at the peak of his career. Amazing. It will be interesting to see how the American public responds. My guess is that nobody will care; the guys a good actor, period. And hopefully his courage will lead to other actors doing the same. Paging Doctor Howser!

I agree - good for TR Knight for coming out. Since he's on the number one show on TV, i can't wait to see how the public reacts. I think it'll be a non-issue, and that makes me happy.

What's upsetting, tho, is the why and how of the outing. If Isaiah Washington did make some slurs and that public fight led to TR Knight disclosing his sexuality before he was ready to, then Washington should face some consequence for that. I can only imagine the hatefulness of the remark; he must be a joy to work with. How would he feel if someone hit him with a racial slur?

Isaiah Washington has apologized.

The latest rumour has T.R. Knight dating Luke MacFarlane, who plays the guy dating gay "brother" Kevin on "Brothers & Sisters."

is Luke McFarland openly gay?

WOW! TR is a lucky guy if this is true!! I think many will think that Luke is lucky too!

They make a cute couple.

This report (scroll down) suggests that Luke and T.R. are indeed boyfriends.

TR Knight does comfirm that he was called the f-word.

It makes me wanna use a left hook on Isaiah Washington.

What a dumb ass.

Isaiah Washington is a loser. Always has been and always will be. To use the slur again Monday night and to use the Golden Globes as a platform to do so is unfathomable to me. He should be fired from "Grey's" if you ask me.

Here he is on Ellen today.

TR Knight, I mean.

Didn't claim he DIDN'T call T. R. Knight the slur? Which is why he repeated it, right?

Plus Washington said this:



If he and Knight have resolved it with each other and the show's staff, that's where it should end.

Not only did TR Knight handle himself beautifully on Ellen (was that today's show or yesterday's?), but it was also great to see Ellen not shying away from the controversy. It seems like she has purposely toned down the lesbian "thing" during her talk show (she never discusses her girlfriend, for example), and there has been supposition that she felt burned by her coming out, and being perceived as "too gay." On this show, though, she tackled it head on, and only seemed embarassed because Knight was praising her too much about her courage in coming out. He had some wonderful things to say about her and how much it helped him when she came out, and I thought he might actually lose it and start crying right there on her set - really warm and sweet moments between them.

With both Knight's comments and his costar Katherine Heigl basically confirming the original story, it looks like Washington is just a plain liar about what happened. I can understand that he is concerned about the negative effect the incident may have on his career, but in that case, take Heigl's advice and keep your mouth closed. Had he simply said, "what happens on the set really should stay there, Patrick, TR and I are fine, and we are happy to work together" it all might have blown over, but now everyone is talking about it. It is actually kind of nice to see that guy who used the f-bomb getting the negative reaction, however.

It would be hard for Washington to put it behind him and say something like, "T.R. and I are fine and have worked it out," because it's obvious that's not true. Knight's comments on Ellen today make it clear that he's not OK with what happened. And Washington's lying about it is making it more of a story.

By ABC and "Grey's Anatomy" sticking with Washington, they are sending the message that it's still OK to call your co-worker a f****t on the job.

I watched the YouTube clip on Ellen. He did seem on the verge of tears, as was I trying to watch it at work.

TR was very touching on "Ellen". IF this is all behind them why did Washington pick such a high profile moment to use the gay n-word? And lets face it; if anyone on that show would had called Washington the n-word in - that person would no longer be working for ABC.

GLAAD is demanding an apology from Washington.

what's the link to the youtube clip?

Look, some of us are Black and gay, and don't like either word, but the f-word is not the "gay n-word." They're both highly offensive, but they're not the same. Also, people use the n-word or deprecatory terms about Black people all the time and not only keep their jobs but get promoted. If Washington lied about using the term, the show should deal with him, and especially should deal with him if he didn't resolve things with Knight.

don't people use the word f****t all the time and keep their jobs and get promoted?






not only is he a loser, he's gutless as well.

You may not feel the f-word is the same as the n-word. But that's your opinion. That's not everyone's way of thinking, and you shouldn't suppose it is. My best friend is black and gay and we talked about this today and he said he thinks the f-word is worse than the n-word. The point is... that's his way of thinking. People don't see things the same way. To a lot of people, being called a "f****t" is offensive. To a lot of people, being called a "n****r" is offensive. Both are wrong in my opinion and both are equally hurtful.

Can you imagine if Michael Richards had gone on Letterman to issue an apology and said, "I never called anyone a n****r." That's pretty much the equivalent of what Washington did. And the fact that Washington chose to say the f-word a second time while being interviewed in front of the world's media at the Golden Globes is concrete evidence that the man is an a-hole through and through, and deliberately said it to be mean. On top of that, he completely ruined the story of the evening for their show, which should have been a joyous occasion to celebrate a Golden Globe win. But he chose to make it all about himself again. He's disgusting.

I saw the CNN entertainment coverage of the controversy last night and I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I think the coverage of this whole thing is a sign of change in our society. Since the first reporting on the incident between Washington and Dempsey, the story has been about discord on the set of the hottest drama of the season, not about a hidden homo in the show's ranks. Even Knights' coming out was treated more as confirmation of what happened than a story in its own right (compare that to Ellen's coming out a decade ago now).



That was exactly the story last night. Because of Heigl's confirmation of what happened, most people seem to believe that Washington is lying about his actions, and suddenly the entertainment news is again about discord on the set, not the huge win in the GGs. As I was watching the coverage CNN had a crawl at the bottom, which explained the topic being discussed for those just tuning in. The crawl said something like, "Washington is accused of using an anti-gay slur on TR Knight, who is gay." The Gay thing was secondary - just a piece of information to make the story more salient.

Could it be that the onus of being an out actor is finally abating?

Yes, it's my opinion, and I never said it wasn't. I don't know your best friend, but I can say that if you're not Black you won't be called the n-word in an offensive manner (unless it's qualified), and most people--of whatever sexuality--are viewed first in terms of race, ethnicity and gender in this society, then sexuality. Most people cannot hide (nor do they want to any more) their racial ancestry, while people do engage in closeting their sexuality. Additionally white gay people benefit from being white, while Black (or any non-white) gay people do not. And yes, men benefit from male privilege in ways that women don't. So, yes, my opinion is my opinion, and no, I don't think the two words are equivalent, though both are offensive

I agree with CPT Doom that it's good that the coverage of the story isn't focused on Knight's sexuality but on Washington's comments. I hadn't been following the entire saga that closely, but as I said, if Knight lied publicly about his actions and had not fully accounted for his behavior, his employers should deal with him appropriately.

ABC responds ...

I co-sign on your comments fantomas. I mean different perspectives are certainly going to come in for people of different races, genders, environments, experiences, etc. An example of that was when I was patronized for saying that Crash was more meaningful to me as a person of color over Brokeback Mountain. How many gay black men can relate to Brokeback Mountain? It was white and western/country. Great love story but overall I couldn't relate to it, whereas Crash was something I've had to deal with more in my experiences in life. My racial identity is something I can't hide and defines me more than my sexual orientation.

I was recently walking with a friend in Washington, DC and this guy was standing outside a bar holding a cup and sign that said "Why lie? Need money for beer" and as I walked past him he touched my arm and I was like "Don't touch me please" and he mumbled something and called me a f****t. My response to it was to keep it walking and ignore him but had he called me the "n" word...oh it may have been on. Now I was offended and upset by him calling me that but it didn't evoke the kind of anger I would have felt if he had called me the "n" word. Both words are extremely offensive but the "n" word is more offensive to me than the "f" word. But thats just my perspective.

And regarding the topic of Grey's Anatomy...Isiah Washington is a scumbag. What a completely crude statement to make, and interestingly more...the woman who created the show was laughing when he said it. I don't know if it was one of those uncomfortable laughs or what but my reaction would've been one of disgust and it would've read all over my face.

And thanks to YouTube and TMZ, you can now watch Washington make his "f****t" remark:

Washington at the Golden Globes

both words are equally demeaning, hurtful and discriminatory. though i'll never fully understand how highly offensive the N word is; to be called a f****t is pretty close.

Both the n-word and f-word are negative put downs- used by racist and homophobes as an insult. I imagine that people on that show knew that TR was gay- so if Washington used the f-word he knew exactly what he was doing. Washington should just have apoligised and the incident would have been forgotten. No matter what our race might be as gay men we should not tolerate such behavior.

T.R. Knight is adorable. Isaiah Washington... very disappointing. Go away, please.

Props to Katherine Heigl rallying to T.R.'s defense, just as Izzy would defend George.

I love Katherine and she could have been PC and not said anything to the media but that would've been pushing it under the rug. I love it. My female friends are the same way and have been ready to take their earrings off and grab the vaseline to throw down anyone who even talks down about my sexual orientation without even dropping the "f" bomb.

I know it won't do any good, but my interpretation of the lameness of the ABC response to this incident inspired me to send an email to the president at ABC.

I simply indicated that I would no longer be watching any of the ABC shows. I think I really need to find out a list of the top 5 ad sponsors for ABC and write to them.... anyone have a ready made list of them?

I never really cared for Dr Burke to begin with...and where is his overprotective Mother now???

Washington has now issued this apology:



Me thinks this might be a case of too little, too late.

Well, I gotta admit, it's a damn fine apology. I'm not sure what more he could do in the immediate moment and we'll just have to wait and see if he holds true to his promise of higher action in the future.

Much internet chatter (elsewhere more than here) has me chuckling. It seems kind of silly to boycott GA when all that really will do is hurt TR Knight as much as anyone else.

So what should one do? I wonder.

Last night's episode was really creepy. Watching Dr. Burke and Dr. O'Malley have close connections and caring interactions was just odd.

Considering this was Washington's second time using the term 'f****t' in public in 3 months (or at least the 2nd time he was caught saying it), I'd say the apology is rather hollow. Besides, merely "issuing a statement," like he did is far different than a true apology. His publicist spent a few minutes writing it and then it was sent to all sorts of media outlets. Yawn.

I agree. My awareness of Isaiah Washington's actions and words took me out of the moment and, I'm sorry to say, it's hard for me to like the character of Dr. Burke anymore.

Absolutely! Speaks to the quality of their acting for sure.

I think Washington dug himself a much deeper hole than was necessary. If he'd just apologized after the incident, instead of denying that it ever took place (which was stupid since a good portion of the cast and crew were present) it would have seemed more sincere and genuine. At this point it just serves to make him not only a homophobe, but a liar too.

I kinda like John Mayer's idea on how to resolve all this.

LOL...oh that John Mayer makes me laugh. BTW. What are tea cookies?