The fallout from Isaiah Washington's explosion on the Grey's Anatomy set has taken its human toll, leading co-star T.R. Knight, one of the targets of his wrath, to come out and announce he's gay.
Washington, who plays Dr. Preston Burke, began berating Knight on the set last week, in a tirade about cast members showing up late. When the show's resident heartthrob Patrick Dempsey suggested, "Pick on someone your own size," Washington went for Dempsey's throat, called Knight a "bitch" and, according to the National Enquirer, called somebody on the set a "faggot."
The Enquirer would not name the person at whom the invective was hurled. But the incident and rumours swirling around it apparently led Knight to issue a statement to People magazine.
Says Knight: "I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I'd like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there. While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me."
Well spoken.
Wish we could say the same for Isaiah Washington. No one on the Grey's Anatomy set is going to feel much better about him in light of this turn of events. It's unfortunate that someone's private life should be exposed in such a manner, especially since Knight was a bystander to Washington's tantrum. But we have to hand it to T.R., who's standing tall as a bigger man than the macho, trash-talking star, even as he's cheated out of years of staged photo ops with publicity-hungry starlets, and maybe even a Scientology wedding.
Comments (14)
GO O'MALLEY!
1 of 14 | Posted by UrMomSaysHi | Posted on October 19, 2006 4:01 PM
That's so awkward. But no big surprise on either count, especially for people who follow Grey's and it's cast -- Washington always comes off as a total ass, making "very serious" comments about his grand film career and impying that we should all be thankful he deigned to grace our television screens.
2 of 14 | Posted by tvtvtv | Posted on October 19, 2006 4:05 PM
well he IS preston burke, nationally acclaimed cardiothoracic surgeon....
3 of 14 | Posted by jash | Posted on October 19, 2006 4:18 PM
I really didn’t want to join the anti-Tabloid Baby sentiment seen on this site lately, but that last paragraph pushed me over the edge. Add me to the rebellion -vive la révolution!
Seriously Tabloid Baby – you’re jumping to conclusions if you think Isaiah Washington forced TR Knight out of the closet. The National Enquirer reports something so therefore it must be true? Did you witness this tirade yourself?
Granted, the timing of Knight’s announcement is damning in light of the Enquirer story, but rumors of his sexual preference have been whispered around for awhile now. Kudos for Knight for coming out, but it is not really a shock. However, it’s irresponsible for you to speculate that Isaiah Washington is a “macho, trash-talking star” who forced TR Knight to come out unwillingly.
4 of 14 | Posted by Redhead | Posted on October 19, 2006 4:31 PM
Oh, c'mon. Washington is an ass. Whatever reason Knight had, the timing is interesting. And last I looked, this is a blog not the Washingotn Post. The thing I like best about this site is that the contributors are sly, opinionated and pretty obviously not censored. Always room for more voices, eh? Rock on TB! Call 'em as you see 'em...
5 of 14 | Posted by watcher | Posted on October 19, 2006 4:48 PM
Washington may indeed be an asshole, but I hardly think he outted Knight. I mean, anyone who has ever seen an interview with the guy (or you know, lives in Los Angeles) has strongly suspected Knight's sexuality (and kudos to him for coming out, that's great). Calling someone a "bitch" is hardly calling them gay. Out and proud or not, I'd still like to know exactly what Knight's behavior was that helped contribute to Washington's freakout. Violence is unacceptable, but if the guy was holding up the set, he shouldn't get a free pass just because he got called a bitch.
6 of 14 | Posted by Film_Girl | Posted on October 19, 2006 7:36 PM
A plane just flew over Tabloid Baby's house trailing a sign:
W-H-O C-A-R-E-S
7 of 14 | Posted by sg-dub | Posted on October 19, 2006 8:07 PM
There's no such thing as bad publicity. All this does is draw more attention to the show, and perhaps stronger story lines for T.J. Knight's character.
8 of 14 | Posted by Shaz | Posted on October 20, 2006 5:23 AM
I love the addition of Tabloid Baby. Redhead - in case you missed the name TABLOID Baby. Specualtion makes for good snark.
9 of 14 | Posted by OD-TV | Posted on October 20, 2006 6:34 AM
How much can we pay Isiah Washington to kick Tabloid Baby out of the tvgasm offices? :)
Seriously, I miss the old tvgasm site. There was no "blog" section as the whole site consisted of funny recaps and occasional newsgasms. Now it's 70% Tabloid Baby stories(2 stories for 1 incident on Gray's Anatomy), the multi-page recaps, and the advertising's overtaking the site. :(
10 of 14 | Posted by BigTeebo | Posted on October 20, 2006 7:15 AM
You are sooo right BigTeebo. Tabloid Baby has not been a good addition. They added departments but I haven't found a complaint department. B-Side make it stop!
11 of 14 | Posted by GasmFan | Posted on October 20, 2006 7:35 AM
i don't mind tabloid baby at all. and i don't mind the newsgasms either. now i don't have to find random other sites if i want to hear a little celeb gossip, plus the whole site is still chalk full of TVgasm snark, which is truly why we all come here, right?! or,well, i do anyway... that and the right on recaps...escapades to random sites thruout LA and whatnot... oh come on, who are we kidding?! EVERYONE loves TvGasm!! If the guys decide to add it (whatever IT may be), it must be good, cause they're just that good. = ) Let it be people, let it be.
12 of 14 | Posted by tigereye | Posted on October 20, 2006 7:36 AM
I like the addition of Tabloid Baby. Leaves B-Side, J-Unit and out other vets free to spend more time on the recaps (and maybe some live blogs sometime?).
I'm a bit curious though. Why is sb-dub so hostile?
13 of 14 | Posted by Ms. Tumnus | Posted on October 20, 2006 8:50 AM
I'll throw my support to Tabloid Baby. It's very simple. If the teaser makes you want to read the story, read it. If it doesn't, don't. If you're personally not into snarky gossip, that's no reason to advocate banishing someone from 'Gasmland.
14 of 14 | Posted by JasonR | Posted on October 20, 2006 12:43 PM