Isaiah Washington at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons @vagueonthehow
In October 2006, reports emerged that Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey had gotten into a heated argument on set. Both actors confirmed that they had lost their tempers but quickly made up. However, this was not the whole story. During the argument, Washington used a homophobic slur in reference to co-star T. R. Knight, who had not publicly come out. When the story made its way to the press, Knight was forced to come out as gay, and many groups called for Washington to be fired. In the pressroom at the Golden Globes after winning Best Drama Series, Washington repeated the slur when denying its use. A few months later, he was fired. Knight left two years later after what he called a "breakdown in communication" with creator Shonda Rhimes. Washington eventually returned to Grey’s for one episode in the tenth season, and Knight worked with Rhimes again on The Catch.
