Gossip Rocks Forum - View Single Post - Isaiah Washington Says T.R. Knight Should've Been Fired

southernbelle · June 21st, 2007, 01:03 PM

I think I'm the only one who is Team Washington. He has a point. While I don't know that I agree that T.R. Knight should have been fired, I do think he definitely blew the whole thing out of proportion and unnecessarily stirred things up. I also remember hearing that the slur was directed at Patrick, not Knight, when it originally happened.

Washington was bullied by TR and ABC into completing a series of actions (PSA, apology, etc) with the understanding that upon completion he would keep his job. He fulfilled his end of that deal only to have ABC completely fuck him over and let him go AFTER pilots for other shows had already been cast. What they did was deceptive and unprofessional. Not only did they completely slander his name by forcing him and allowing TR and Katie to constantly remind everyone that this had happened, they deprived him of the opportunity to look for another job. They led him to believe he would still be employed with Grey's, so he didn't audition for anything else.

In fact, considering that this incident occured in private, why was it even publicized? I wonder if TR was the source who made sure every tabloid heard about it. Maybe the reason no one else has spoken out in his defense is because they don't want to be the next to lose their jobs when TR and Katie unleash their wrath to the media and the producers.

I'm glad that he's considering suing and I hope that he does. Contrary to what we've been led to believe, I don't think his remark was directed at T.R. or some sort of backhanded comment about his sexuality. I think Isaiah used the word in the same sense that people use the word "dumbass" or "bitch." No one "forced" TR to come out of the closet as has been alleged in other articles that I've read. This could have easily been played down. It was TR who insisted on shoving it down everyone's throats.

I think that ABC did go back on their word, completely screwing Isaiah over in the process. Almost everyone I know has used the word "faggot" in frustration or anger at times and it's generally understood that it's an expression of anger or a general insult that's interchangeable with other "bad words," not a slur on the homosexual community. Personally, I think this was a case of TR or Katie having a problem with Isaiah that was unrelated to this incident and seeing this as their opportunity to get him fired.

Disagreements at work happen all the time. It was unprofessional for ABC to allow TR Knight and Katherine Heigl to consistently trash talk Isaiah to media outlets after the fact and (I believe) browbeat TPTB into firing Isaiah AFTER they'd already settled the matter and led him to believe he would keep his job. They needed to pick one or the other- severely reprimand him and make him go through a series of tasks and apologies with the understanding that he'd keep his job OR fire him. Personally, I believe their actions were extreme, unnecessary, deceptive, and unprofessional.

June 21st, 2007, 01:03 PM	#12 (permalink)
southernbelle Elite Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 6,069	I think I'm the only one who is Team Washington. He has a point. While I don't know that I agree that T.R. Knight should have been fired, I do think he definitely blew the whole thing out of proportion and unnecessarily stirred things up. I also remember hearing that the slur was directed at Patrick, not Knight, when it originally happened. Washington was bullied by TR and ABC into completing a series of actions (PSA, apology, etc) with the understanding that upon completion he would keep his job. He fulfilled his end of that deal only to have ABC completely fuck him over and let him go AFTER pilots for other shows had already been cast. What they did was deceptive and unprofessional. Not only did they completely slander his name by forcing him and allowing TR and Katie to constantly remind everyone that this had happened, they deprived him of the opportunity to look for another job. They led him to believe he would still be employed with Grey's, so he didn't audition for anything else. In fact, considering that this incident occured in private, why was it even publicized? I wonder if TR was the source who made sure every tabloid heard about it. Maybe the reason no one else has spoken out in his defense is because they don't want to be the next to lose their jobs when TR and Katie unleash their wrath to the media and the producers. I'm glad that he's considering suing and I hope that he does. Contrary to what we've been led to believe, I don't think his remark was directed at T.R. or some sort of backhanded comment about his sexuality. I think Isaiah used the word in the same sense that people use the word "dumbass" or "bitch." No one "forced" TR to come out of the closet as has been alleged in other articles that I've read. This could have easily been played down. It was TR who insisted on shoving it down everyone's throats. I think that ABC did go back on their word, completely screwing Isaiah over in the process. Almost everyone I know has used the word "faggot" in frustration or anger at times and it's generally understood that it's an expression of anger or a general insult that's interchangeable with other "bad words," not a slur on the homosexual community. Personally, I think this was a case of TR or Katie having a problem with Isaiah that was unrelated to this incident and seeing this as their opportunity to get him fired. Disagreements at work happen all the time. It was unprofessional for ABC to allow TR Knight and Katherine Heigl to consistently trash talk Isaiah to media outlets after the fact and (I believe) browbeat TPTB into firing Isaiah AFTER they'd already settled the matter and led him to believe he would keep his job. They needed to pick one or the other- severely reprimand him and make him go through a series of tasks and apologies with the understanding that he'd keep his job OR fire him. Personally, I believe their actions were extreme, unnecessary, deceptive, and unprofessional.