Money Losers of 2007: Slur gets Isaiah Washington dropped from Grey's Anatomy

Posted Dec 23rd 2007 4:10PM by Trey Thoelcke
Filed under: Television, Scandals, Headline News

As one of the stars of Grey's Anatomy, one of the most popular shows on television in the past year or so, Isaiah Washington seemed to have it pretty good -- until an incident in October of 2006 in which he reportedly used a homophobic slur against a fellow castmate. Still, he apologized (at the prompting of Touchstone Television) and underwent anger counseling. It might have been but a minor bump in Washington's career had he not continued to antagonize fellow cast members by such things as his flippant remarks about the incident at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony in January of 2007.

Still, he went back to work on the hit show, amid speculation that the incident would influence impending salary negotiations. But by June ABC had had enough and cut Washington loose. Further accusations flew, and Washington threatened to sue, to leave the country to dedicate himself to charity work, and to focus solely on a career in independent film.

But when NBC offered Washinton an apparent second chance, he took it, agreeing to appear in a multi-episode story arc on The Bionic Woman. Not quite the hit show that Grey's (with its generous salaries) is, but work is work, even if cancellation rumors swirled. Washington will be appearing soon in The Least of These, a motion picture in which he plays a priest and teacher at a Catholic High School, and is said to have a devolpment deal with NBC for an action series to air in the 2008-2009 season.

So his career doesn't seem to be over, as some had speculated (or even wished for). Washington has more than once expressed the desire to put the whole incident behind him. He even recently joined his former cast members on the picket line in support of striking writers.

Be sure to check out other Money Losers of 2007.

Tags: ABC, Bionic Woman, Golden Globes, Grey's Anatomy, Isaiah Washington, NBC, The Least of These, Touchstone, writers strike