A report on Isaiah Washington's meeting w/GLAAD and GLSEN
This just in.
Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Kevin Jennings, founder and executive director of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) today met with Grey's Anatomy co-star Isaiah Washington in Los Angeles. The three discussed Washington's uses of an anti-gay slur and laid the groundwork for an ongoing partnership to combat the prejudice and intolerance faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
At the beginning of the meeting – which came on the first day of GLSEN's annual No Name-Calling Week – Washington candidly acknowledged the harm he had caused by his repeated use of the epithet.
"Isaiah understands that he is going to be judged by more than just his apology," Giuliano said. "He knows that his future actions – including the genuine first step that today's meeting represents – will demonstrate his sincerity in becoming part of the solution to anti-gay bigotry. We welcome the opportunity to work with him in the coming months to help improve the cultural climate faced by LGBT people across this country."
Said Jennings: "GLSEN is thankful to ABC for arranging the meeting and hopeful that Isaiah Washington has come to a deeper understanding of the power of words, especially as we launch No Name-Calling Week in schools across the country," Jennings said. "As a parent himself, Isaiah Washington seemed to particularly appreciate the impact these words have on young people in schools and expressed an interest in becoming an ally in GLSEN 's effort to educate young people about the negative impact of name-calling and bullying."
GLAAD and GLSEN expect to meet with Washington again in the coming weeks to begin discussing and implementing possible public education initiatives.
- No word from Washington's new publicists or ABC.

Greg Hernandez has covered the entertainment industry for the Daily
News since 2001. He's considered a bit odd by some for his obsession
with box office numbers, has been known to camp out near the kitchen
at premieres for first crack at the hors d'oeurves, and Greg's never
seen a red carpet he didn't want to stroll down.
Comments
Latest FabLog: Fait Divers -- Namecalling
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | January 23, 2007 07:33 AM