Regardless of what was really said on the “Grey’s Anatomy” set, we all know the ultimate result: Isaiah Washington was fired from the show.
As Washington attempts to restart his career, he paid a visit to the set of “Access Hollywood” for a candid interview with Billy Bush. The conversation took place just hours after it was announced T.R. Knight received an Emmy nomination.
“Do you think he benefited from this dust up?” Bush asked Washington.
“T.R. Knight is a good actor. He has been a wonderful actor from day one,” Washington said. “T.R. Knight, congratulations. He finally got the attention he deserved.”
In fact, it was only well wishes from Washington for his former “Grey’s” co-star who received his first Emmy nod on Thursday.
“Whether or not it serves any particular agenda that he’s nominated now, to make a point, I can’t speak on that. That’s theoretical. I don’t know, but good for him,” the former Dr. Preston Burke noted.
Washington claims the controversy surrounding him on the “Grey’s” set had nothing to do with his decision not to submit himself for Emmy consideration.
“You did an amazing job on ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ why did you not submit for an Emmy nomination?” Bush asked.
“It wasn’t about not submitting because I was afraid of the backlash,” Washington said. “I didn’t want the pain of being nominated and losing. I didn’t have a good time at the last Emmys. It was the stress of ‘Are we going to win? Are we going to win?’ the whole day. I remember being on the red carpet and it was hot and my wife and I had the biggest argument because of my nerves.”
Of course, it’s not the first time the pressure of an awards show appears to have gotten to Washington. Everyone knows about his post-Golden Globes tirade.
“When you got up on the mic and used the word for the second time, was that not just trying to disarm everybody and address the big elephant in the room?” Bush asked.
“Yes,” Washington said. “It backfired hugely.”
But did the party atmosphere of the Globes contribute to the notorious remark?
“The thing about the Golden Globes, why it’s such a great awards show, everybody has a few pops,” Bush noted. “Did you have a couple cocktails?”
“Oh yes. I was kind of asleep at the wheel,” Washington laughed.
However, ABC’s ultimate reaction wasn’t exactly swift.
“It took ABC eight months to fire you. That rules out moral outrage,” Bush said. “Sometimes in organizations people look and see who is more of a legal problem. Did you lose a political struggle?”
“I don’t think I lost. I think the executive producers and the creator lost,” Washington said.
It was “Grey’s” creator Shonda Rhimes who called Washington to give him the news.
“She didn’t call to fire me,” he said. “She called to give me a heads up as a friend.”
But that very same day, Washington got another phone call — this time from NBC, offering him a guest spot on “Bionic Woman.”
“You got a new gig minutes later on NBC,” Bush said. “You must feel vindicated.”
For Washington’s answer and more on the “Grey’s” controversy and what comes next, tune in to Friday’s “Access Hollywood” for more with Isaiah Washington.