Chatting with Isaiah Washington's publicist, Howard Bragman...

The "Glass Closet" panel I participated in at USC yesterday was moderated by Howard Bragman, the well-known gay publicist who has repped some of the biggest names in showbiz and sports. His current clients include John Amaechi, Martina Navratilova and...Isaiah Washington. The former "Grey's Anatiomy" star hired Bragman after his infamous "I did not call T.R. a f****t" incident at the Golden Globes.
I had wondered aloud during the summer how a gay publicist could square repping a client who was coming across as homophobic. Howard told me yesterday that "I don't believe Isaiah is homophobic. I believe he made a mistake. A person who is homophobic does not take gay roles in movies and does not have gay friends. He made a mistake."
After signing on with Bragman's Fifteen Minutes firm, Washington taped a few PSA messages for GLAAD and went to, for lack of a better word, "gayhab," to try and figure out why he said the things he said. Then, ABC fired him anyway.
Here's where Howard and I really differ: I thought Washington's post-firing interviews with Larry King, blogger Keith Boykin and a Houston newspaper showed him in a very negative light as he lashed out at ABC for making him jump through PR hoops then firing him anyway. And worst of all to many, he attacked T.R. Knight and painted him as a schemer and a liar. Remember, it was T.R. who came out after speculation over who Washington was referring to as a f****t during a scuffle with Patrick Dempsey on the set of "Grey's" last fall.
"I think it's been overcovered," Bragman said. "Not all slurs are created equal."
Bragman thought the post-firing interviews went well.
Obviously, we disagree.
But Washington seems to have landed on his feet, for now, with at least five episodes of NBC's "Bionic Woman" which fihished a strong second in overall viewers in its premiere Wednesday night but finished ahead of ABC's "Grey's" spinoff "Private Practice" in the coveted 18-49 demographic.

I guess I still don't understand how Howard Bragman can represent Isaiah Washington but I do have much respect for his experience in this industry and for what he has achieved. Here are a few of the things he had to say during the USC event that I jotted down:
On changing attitudes toward gays on TV: "It is so generational. We grew up on 'Leave it to Beaver' and 'My Three Sons' and these kids come home and watch 'Queer As Folk' and 'Will & Grace" in syndication."
On what will help more actors come out: "What's gonna happen is the Jackie Robinson moment. The A-list actor who comes out and thrives....it will stiffen everyone's back."