Larry King goes easy on Isaiah...
Just finished watching the one-hour "Larry King Live" interview with Isaiah Washington. Boy, if I ever cause a scandal, I want Larry King to interview me because his hot seat is pretty lukewarm. Isaiah was very calm during the interview and most of the time, often said the right things: "I am not homophobic, no way." Of the night at the Golden Globes when he denied calling T.R. Knight a "f****t" he said: "I unbelievably regret that. If I could take that moment back, I would." "That's not a word that I use, I don't need it." and "I love everybody... humanity is in my heart."
But he also said some incredulous things and there are inconsistancies there. At one point, he's grown up around gay people but later says "I didn't know what gay was until I moved to New York and lived 10 years [there]." And after giving an interview to Newsweek where he clearly stated he felt his being a black man had much to do with how he was treated, he tells King tonight: "I don't want to racialize this thing."
Washington repeated what he told Newsweek about T.R. Knight having issues with Patrick Dempsey and indicated that he stood up to Dempsey on the set on a day McDreamy in part because he was standing up for Knight "against the bullying" of Dempsey. As previously reported, his downfall began with an on-set confrontation with Dempsey who Washington said was 15 minutes late to the set. "I'm mad, I'm getting upset," he admitted. He chides Dempsey for being late, makes what is perceived as an unflattering remark about his acting ability and Dempsey "became unhinged. I'm asking him why he's screaming at me. He is irate. Why am I being berated? I begin to say a lot of things I'm not very proud of."
He told Larry that when he used the [gay slur] f-word during his shouting match with Dempsey, he was referring to someone who was "weak, not deserving of respect" not gay.
He says when he said the f-word, he was not referring to T.R. but later it seems as if the word and T.R.'s name were used in the same reference. Washington said "the $5 million question" was how a report of the fight got in the National Enquirer then the NY Post. Washington said of Knight going on Ellen DeGeneres' show and saying that Washington called him the F-word on the set: "That's a lie. He misrepresented himself...he was very unhappy at the time...he may be happy now. He got a [pay] bump and he's still on the show."
Washington said he had "never talked to the man, never had that many scenes with him...I thought we were fine professionally." Curiously, Washington's character of Preston Burke and Knight's George O'Malley in fact had many scenes together over the three seasons and, at one point, even shared an apartment with Burke's fiancee Christina (Sandra Oh). Burke was something of a mentor to O'Malley, a tough taskmaster. When O'Malley's father was dying of cancer this season, the two shared some intense scenes when George was asking a hospitalized Preston for treatment advice. Washington, who told Newsweek Knight should be fired, told King that "I think T.R. should be addressed."
Washington said he tried to resign from the show twice and that all of the statements released by ABC from him following the original incident then after the Golden Globes were written by the network. He also discussed the counseling he underwent post-Globes (widely refered to as his stint in gayhab." He said that during his six days in "executive counseling," "everyone asked me, 'Why am I here? He said he went to counseling and did yoga and tai chi'
Washington choked up when King asked him if he had heard from co-stars: Sandra Oh sent him an email, Chandra Wilson was "behind me every step of the way" and he also spoke highly of James Pickens, Kate Walsh and Eric Dane. King wondered why none of the actors publicly stood up for Washington the way, for example, Katherine Heigl did for Knight: "Disney is paying their bills...you don't want to mess with the mouse...I think everybody did what they had to do."
The interview ended oddly. King, who seemed to be laregely sympathetic to Washington, asked what the actor thought of Don Imus who was fired for racist comments made on air about some female college basketball players. King seemed to be saying the man's career was being judged by one comment. Washington commented that "things that would have been tolerated not 50 years ago but six months ago" no longer are.
So, is that a bad thing? Not tolerating hateful language?
Washington said the biggest lesson he's learned is this: "In times of great stress and duress, just keep your mouth shut."
He does not seem to be following his own advice.
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
I'm so glad you posted this! I missed the interview.
So did they talk about the fact he CHOKED an actor? Larry didn't bring up the PAST accusations of violence?
Posted by: Chad | July 2, 2007 11:27 PM
Shenanigans!
Part of the reason for the gag order on the other castmates is probably so people will speculate as to what really happened on the set. Did he call TR a faggot or was he just throwing it out there as another way to say "weak person"? Which is preferable?
As soft as Larry King was, he did call Isaiah out when he tried to explain what started the fight.
Isaiah told Dempsey, "I know how to act." Isaiah then tried to say that Dempsey misunderstood it to mean that he (Dempsey) couldn't act. King was quick about pointing out that that is what Isaiah was implying by saying that he (Isaiah) could act.
Interesting that he didn't mention any racial motivation as to why he was fired. Wonder where that went?!
He said he tried to resign twice, so why would he care if his option wasn't picked up? Also, I can't help but wonder if he formally submitted a resignation or if it was threats of quitting. Again, we'll never know.
Dempsey is probably a diva pain in the ass, but I can't imagine that Isaiah's reaction was really because he was so concerned about production and everyone else on the set. George Clooney buying an assistant flowers because a paparazzi tried to get Clooney's attention by calling her fat is one thing. Yelling, "I'm not your bitch, punk, faggot" because you're concerned about the teamsters is not quite as believeable.
My take is that he felt that he wasn't being treated the way he should, he overestimated his pull on the show, he pissed off an executive and he got the can.
A bit I didn't understand was his saying that T.R. went public because he wasn't happy with the direction his character was taking. Since when did being outed help anyone?
Another bit that didn't hold water was his saying that when he associated the word faggot to weakness it was because he was used to hearing it from the gay community that surrounded him in New York. I don't know what gay community he is hanging with.
He's a tool who needs to get better people to help him with damage control.
Posted by: solobear | July 3, 2007 08:55 AM
So he starts out by saying he didn't mean T.R. when he said the f-word.
But later in the broadcast he says, "I did not say -- I said yes, you're not going to 'B' me, 'P' me, 'F' me, because I'm not T.R."
Then he recounts telling T.R., "you know if anything, the only reason I brought your name into this is because I felt like I was defending you against some bullying."
So twice in the broadcast he admits he did in fact bring T.R.'s name into it as someone who was an "f."
Even if the man could keep his stories straight, he wouldn't be doing himself any favors this week. People can smell a lie, and know to be offended when a self-serving weasel dresses one up as an apology.
Posted by: Richard | July 3, 2007 11:29 AM