Nobody Wins With Isaiah Washington Gone

There are three big losers in the Grey’s Anatomy fiasco. The first is Isaiah Washington, whose constant appearances and interviews continually erode his credibility because each time something new and different seems to emerge. While he’s consistent with the insistence that he’s the victim of a double standard (a reasonably fair proposition given the long list of on the set misbehavior from all types of male and female actors over the decades) he keeps making changes to the story behind his dismissal. On Larry King Live there was suddenly the entrance of a lengthy tale involving Patrick Dempsey that talked about perennial tardiness, an incident of disrespect involving a Teamsters member during a trip, and Washington’s own perception that he’d failed as a leader. None of this surfaced in the extensive interview that Washington gave to Newsweek’s Alison Samuels featured in an exclusive online piece.

Washington rightly repeated his remorse over using a vulgar slur, denied any homophobia, and even praised Dempsey, while again insisting T.R. Knight was using the situation to manipulate his own agenda, and that media outlets like The National Enquirer had misreported the incident. Still, the changes in Washington’s story, plus his insistence on King’s show that he tried to resign twice makes you wonder how much of this is or isn’t true. While agreeing he shouldn’t have gotten fired, and admiring his courage in admitting the whole “homophobia rehab” thing was a complete sham, you’ve got to feel it will be tough for Washington professionally, especially in the short run.

The second loser was Shonda Rimes, who found out in the worst possible way that her power in Hollywood when it truly counts is more titular than actual. People can believe what they want, but if David. E. Kelley, Steven Bochco, David Milch, Aaron Sorkin or any of a thousand others you could name went to bat for a cast member and insisted they remain over executive objections, particularly when they’re running the top-ranked program on the network, they would have won that power struggle. It doesn’t diminish Rimes’ achievements, but it lets everyone know that at the end of the day real clout for African-American executives in Hollywood is limited.

Finally, there’s the African-American audience, who loses another strong dramatic character. There’s not exactly an abundance of topflight Black male or female figures whose stature and presence on a drama make them stand out from the usual array of sidekicks, friends, supporters and assistants to featured white counterparts. Certainly ABC has the right to make personnel decisions, but in this case they overreacted, and another important cultural representation was sacrificed as a result.