Grey's Anatomy Crew Dished on Isaiah Washington & T.R. Knight's BTS Drama
Did Isaiah Washington intend to insult T. R. Knight in one of Grey's Anatomy's biggest behind-the-scenes scandals?
Any longtime Grey's Anatomy fan will remember one of the most infamous behind-the-scenes scandals the medical drama has seen in its 19-season history. Interestingly, the scandal occurred during the so-called 'golden age' of the show, back in 2006 in the middle of Season 3.
Isaiah Washington (Preston Burke) used a homophobic slur to refer to his co-star T. R. Knight (George O'Malley) during an argument with Patrick Dempsey (Derek Shepherd). The incident immediately went viral.
Although T. R. Knight was not on set during the incident, he found himself in a difficult position. The media quickly picked up on the scandal and made a big deal out of it, which led to Knight coming out. Meanwhile, even his family didn't know he was gay then.
To add insult to injury, Washington used the same slur again at the 2007 Golden Globe Awards.
The scandal worsened, and Washington was fired from the show after the season finale. The actor still refuses to admit he used the slur about T. R. Knight.
Fortunately, we have the show's crew, who saw the situation unfold before their eyes. A former crew member later shed some light on the situation in a Reddit AMA. Redditor u/varsityoptimism shared that the incident occurred on their first day of filming and didn't look as big and serious as it was later portrayed.
They wrote that Washington was never a man with bad intentions or a homophobe but rather a bit of an ignoramus who didn't mince his words.
'He said something off the cuff and in passing which he intended as a joke, and happened to come out wayyyyyyyy worse than how he meant it,' the crew member wrote.
According to the Redditor, the show's notoriously harsh conditions on set may also have been a factor in why Washington said what he did. Everyone heard the actor use the slur and reacted based on their inner moral compass.
Knowing Washington, T. R. Knight wouldn't even have put himself in that situation, but Dempsey reacted with righteous indignation, as is his nature.
The crew member added that Dempsey was far from the angry or selfish person some fans thought he was in that situation. He just got triggered easily and was a bit of a social justice warrior before it was mainstream.