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Isaiah: No Such Thing as Rehab for Homophobia Natalie Finn
Thu Jun 28, 1:44 PM ET



Los Angeles (E! Online) - When they say he went to rehab, Isaiah Washington says no, no, no.

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"I went into an executive counseling program which many people in this industry know about and go to," the actor says in the current issue of Newsweek, attempting to clarify what exactly he checked into earlier this year to make amends for uttering an anti-gay slur backstage at the Golden Globes.

"And more importantly, I volunteered for it because I wanted to understand my fight with Patrick and how it got out of hand like that," he told the magazine. "I wanted to know what I could do to avoid it happening again."

The fight the former Grey's Anatomy star is referring to, of course, is the on-set dustup—set off by a punctuality issue—between him and Patrick Dempsey that took place in October, during which Washington alleged referred to costar T.R. Knight as a "faggot."

At the Globes in January, Washington used the word—and everyone heard it—while denying that he ever said it in the first place. But that one time was enough, and the epithet heard 'round Hollywood immediately let to calls for his ouster and a doomsday statement from ABC, which said that it was taking the matter "very seriously" and that Washington's actions were "being addressed."

Washington apparently thought that his actions had been addressed by his series of mea culpas, including the stint in what at the time was reported as some sort of treatment program. Questions of whether it was more along the lines of anger management counseling were never directly addressed.

"I thought [ABC] sending me meant they actually wanted me to succeed and come out on the other end," Washington told Newsweek from the set of the indie drama The Least of These, in which he plays a priest who returns to teach at the high school where he was abused as a child.

The actor said that ABC knew exactly which program he was checking into, "but chose to call it what they wanted to fit their agenda," spinning it as some sort of "homophobia reprogramming."

"There is no rehab for homophobia," Washington said. "That was just some crap being put out by the network." (ABC declined to comment for the Newsweek article.)

After Washington got the official word from Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes on June 7, the consensus was that his firing was the inevitable fallout from the Knight incident, but Washington's overall reputation for being difficult on the job was also cited as a factor in ABC's decision not to renew his contract for a fourth season.

"I have a mind of my own and I do speak it when I feel it's right," Washington said. "In this business, that's considered being difficult and hard to deal with. A lot of actors face this and it does hurt you with work and in the future jobs. It's a price you pay though for doing the projects you want and making things turn out the way you want. I have an opinion and that should be valued by my employer."

But, creative philosophy aside, the reason why Washington (and lots of other people) thinks he was fired has left the actor feeling irreparably burned for the time being.

"I apologized and showed my remorse for what I said and for the pain I caused anyone," he said. "If a black man can't get forgiveness in this country, when so many other people like Robert Downey Jr. and the governor of California get second and third chances…I think that says a lot about race and this country where we stand."

Washington, who's going to Ghana next week with Jamie Foxx, Chris Tucker and Forest Whitaker to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolishment of slavery there, portrayed a gay character in the Spike Lee movie Get on the Bus, after which he wrote an essay condemning homophobia in the black community.

"People who know me know what's really in my heart," Washington said. "That's what's hurt me so much with all this. I was doing what I'm doing in Africa for year—before Angelina and Bono…I have shared my blessings, but all that changes when this happened and it's truly heartbreaking for me."

"My mistake was believing that I would get the support from my network and all of my cast mates across the board," he continued. "My mistake was believing that I could correct a wrong with honesty and sincerity. My mistake was thinking black people get second chances. I was wrong on all fronts."

Wrong forum and already a thread over in P & R http://www.prince.org/msg/105/232750