(Final) Fire Isaiah Washington

To:  ABC

This is the updated/final version of “Fire Isaiah Washington” found here: http://www.petitiononline.com/at343sh7/petition.html
Thank you everyone for your support. I'm 16 years old and I first made that petition back in October. I didn’t dream it would be getting this much publicity. It is time for us to stand up and be accounted for, don’t let them silence us like they have before.

DO NOT SIGN: http://www.petitiononline.com/firew246/petition.html



On Wednesday, October 11, 2006, People magazine reported that an on-set fight had erupted between Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey, stars of the hit show Grey’s Anatomy. The incident started when Washington became frustrated that some of his co-stars were late to work. Reportedly, Washington made an inappropriate comment to T.R. Knight, another actor on Grey’s Anatomy. Angered by Washington’s comment, Dempsey said, "Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?" The argument quickly became heated and Washington grabbed Dempsey by the throat and allegedly yelled, "I’m not your little faggot like T.R." According to sources, others on the set were shocked.

On Thursday, October 19, 2006, People reported that Knight confirmed exclusively to them that he is gay. In his official statement, Knight told People:

"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."

But this wasn't Washington's first physical fight on a set. On October 22, TMZ reported that he had been shooting the television series "Soul Food" in 2000 when trouble erupted. In one scene, Washington was supposed to give his onscreen wife a "superficial kiss." According to TMZ, the crew was shocked when Washington gave the actress a "forceful, aggressive kiss" instead; she, in turn, was startled and angry. In response, Washington became angry with her and allegedly began to shout at her. The show's director and executive producer then stepped in to correct Washington on how he should have approached the scene. Reportedly, Washington then began yelling at them.
Also, in 1997, Washington was on the set as a guest of a TV show called "High Incident" but he was quickly replaced after a "physical altercation" with a crew member. The incident was so serious that police were called.

After the fight became public, many fans became outraged by Washington's remark about Knight and the double standard in a society which allows discrimination against homosexuals. Soon, rumors circulated that Washington would be replaced for his actions.
But Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey’s Anatomy, told People:
"I found (those rumors) not only ridiculous but offensive that we would consider replacing a member of our family. And also the (idea) that one black man was interchangeable with another seemed disturbing to me."

Soon after, AfterElton.com, a website for gay and bisexual men in entertainment, asked: "If Knight had called Washington the N-word, wouldn't he be fired?"

“‘In the Globes press room on Monday (January 15), Washington tried to set the record straight in regards to reports in October of an on-set incident that resulted from the alleged use of a homophobic slur toward co-star T.R. Knight. After a reporter questioned the validity of the on-set incident, Washington denied his involvement saying, "No, I did not call T.R. a faggot. Never happened, never happened.’”

Moments after you can see Patrick Dempsey and Justin Chambers, co-stars from Grey’s Anatomy, with their head down in embarrassment. Reporters in the room said that the room became “awkward.”

In response to this statement, Katherine Heigl, also a co-star on Grey’s spoke out while being interviewed for the daily celebrity news show Access Hollywood.

“I'm going to be really honest right now, he needs to just not speak in public. Period. I'm sorry, that did not need to be said, I'm not okay with it," Katherine told Shaun.”

Heigl hopes that the incident will be resolved and when asked if she thought T.R Knight was hurt by what happened she responded,

"I don't see how you could not be under those circumstances. Drawing attention to it and saying the word *again* is just unnecessary."

Moments after Washington made his statement in the Golden Globes press room, it was reported that he immediately went to talk to Billy Bush and Nancy O’Dell from Access Hollywood.

"There is no way I could do anything so vile, and so horrible, not only to a castmate, but to a fellow human being," Washington stated.

Washington was then asked if he had ever called Knight a faggot:

*** "It did not happen. I was going to hire some other great shiny publicist, but you know what, God laid it on my heart to say it because it was so close. The reports were all wrong. It did not happen. I'm very disappointed that the New York Post actually wrote legitimately about something that was put in a tabloid about some angry person to get some validity to this, and then it just rippled." ***

On January 17, 2007, T.R Knight appeared on Ellen Degeneres, the same talk show that Washington was booked to appear on months earlier but bailed right before taping. During the interview Ellen talked to Knight about the hit success of Grey’s Anatomy and his new nickname, “McYummy.”

During the second half of the interview Ellen began to talk about the incident that happened on the set of Grey’s Anatomy. Knight confirmed that Washington did indeed call him a faggot and moments later said “It’s a awesome word isn’t it?” jokingly. Knight told Ellen that everybody on the set heard the outburst.

“I was under no delusions..my friends on the set knew. We talked about it.. they knew. I was not under any delusion that they didn’t know but I think publicly it’s not my thing to like call up People Magazine and be like hey you want to know something about me? You know, I think when it happened (the incident) I’ve never been called it and you know you go through things in life and you lose friends when you go through the process whatever your journey is but I’ve never been called that to my face. So, I think when that happened something shifted and it became bigger you know what I mean, then myself. I look to people like you (Ellen) and it’s April right almost ten years (when Ellen came out) to your bravery and others people’s bravery and your just really grateful for that because I could’ve just let it slide and not said anything but it became important.” –T.R Knight

When asked what he thought of Washington when he denied calling him a faggot, Knight responded, “Yeah, he denied that he said it (faggot)..I don’t know what to say…really about that.”

Isaiah Washington was caught in a bold face lie on whether or not he called T.R Knight a faggot. He was caught red handed and doesn’t deserve the privilege to be on Grey’s Anatomy. It will be interesting to see what his publicist will say to defend him now. He has yet to apologize publicly for calling Knight a faggot, but I have a feeling a “statement” will be coming soon.

For some people, the characters on a show are more then characters -- they are mirror images of themselves. People can relate to situations that happen during the show. Watching a TV show is like an escape from reality. For those thirty, fifty, sixty minutes you are watching a fictional world and not worrying about your own issues. People cry, laugh and get angry while watching a show. People become attached to these characters (Karen from Will and Grace anyone?) and when you find out in reality that the actor or actress playing your favorite character in a show is an insensitive, rude and obnoxious person, it ruins the character for you. Washington has ruined Dr. Burke for me personally.

Ultimately we have to think about the castmates in Grey’s Anatomy. Tension does not make for a good working environment. Why ruin the entire bowl of apples if only one is rotten? Being on a hit TV show is a privilege, not a right. Arguing is one thing, but physical violence and discrimination against your co-stars -- be it by race or sexuality -- is a whole different ballpark. As shown, this is not the first time Isaiah has had a violent incident on a set and if he doesn’t seek anger management, it surely will not be his last.

If you want Isaiah Washington removed from "Grey’s Anatomy" so another actor/actress can join the cast who will actually appreciate being on a successful show, sign this petition and forward it to everyone you know.
Thank you for taking the time out to read this.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The (Final) Fire Isaiah Washington Petition to ABC was created by and written by Cameron Smith (elphielover@hotmail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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