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Home • News

Isaiah Washington: 'I Lost Everything' After Gay Slur Controversy

The Grey's Anatomy veteran says he was blacklisted from Hollywood.
Isaiah Washington: 'I Lost Everything' After Gay Slur Controversy
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By Charlene Cooper · Updated October 27, 2020
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Blue Caprice star Isaiah Washington said he was forced out of Hollywood after using homophobic slurs. 

During a recent interview with HuffPost Live, the Grey’s Anatomy veteran said no one in the media “wanted to touch him” after he expressed anti-gay sentiments back in 2007.

The controversy originated when Washington used the word “f—-t” during a dispute with Patrick Dempsey on the Grey’s Anatomy set. The word was used in reference to their co-star T.R. Knight, who later came out as gay. Washington again used the offensive term backstage at the 2007 Golden Globe Awards.

The 50-year-old actor says he not only caught flak from the two incidents, but he was dismissed from the show shortly after and shunned by the entire industry.

“I lost everything. I couldn’t afford to have an agent… I couldn’t afford to have a publicist… I couldn’t afford to continue,” he said.

Despite all the drama that came with the occurrence, Washington says there was one upside to his absence from the public eye.

“I became a better husband, a better father and a better artist,” he said.