Did Isaiah Washington “overplay the race card”?
by Carmen Van Kerckhove
Columnist Leonard Pitts at the Chicago Tribune thinks so (thanks to Rob for the tip):
He — like many of us, black and otherwise — seems knee jerk where race is concerned. Is it so hard to believe people feared him because they thought he was a volatile jerk? Or that a white actor of middling fame who disrupted his workplace would have also been fired? In his rush to make himself a martyr, Washington fails to consider these and other obvious questions.
He comes across as one of those brothers the running joke is meant to mock — the kind for whom race is a get-out-of-jail-free card. Unfortunately, like the boy who cried wolf, such people trivialize what is serious and give others license to do the same.
Though I hate the term “race card,” it’s an interesting question. While it’s good to be aware of how racism influences the way others perceive you, you also need to take responsibility for your own actions. Is it racism? Or are you the problem? Or, more likely, is it a mix of both?
What do you think? Was Washington fired for being a jerk? Or because he was outspoken while black (OWB)? Or was it both?
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
atlasien wrote:
I think it’s simple… he was a jerk. If he was a white jerk, he wouldn’t have been treated as harshly! But he’s still a jerk.
I think this latest move by Washington hurt himself more than anyone else.
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 11:47 am ¶
Wendi Muse wrote:
i don’t know about comparing black jerk v. white jerk here…i mean look at don imus. he’s a perfect example of a “white jerk” who got the boot for some offensive remarks…
i think abc let washington go because he was a PR liability…the same reason imus was fired…
major media companies don’t want to lose money, and they are fully cognizant of the fact that these days, if they hold onto an employee who has an identity insentive potty mouth, they are going to end up with a lawsuit and an angry viewing audience on their hands with means less money to fill their pockets.
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 12:03 pm ¶
Wendi Muse wrote:
which means less*
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 12:08 pm ¶
dnA wrote:
I will admit that I’m kind of surprised about this whole thing. I wanted to defend Isaiah at first, because I find it just mind boggling that anyone who could portray a gay Republican so convincingly would be homophobic, but of course I didn’t, because I would be rationalizing. I think he just doesn’t know how to STFU.
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 1:11 pm ¶
Keke wrote:
I wanted to defend Isaiah at first too. But the more I found out about the situation, the more I lost respect for him as an actor. Even though he may not have been talking to anyone in particular when he used that word, the fact that he would use it at all made me feel that he maybe he is homophobic.
Also, it made me angry that he would say it’s racism. True, Hollywood isn’t exactly a bastion of racial diversity, but to use a slur, any slur, undermines the principles of everything minorities have fought for. Perhaps I am asking for too much. But I feel that he has a responsibility to act in such a manner that adds to diversity in Hollywood, not threaten it.
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 1:45 pm ¶
really wrote:
He’s a jerk, very much so but people are calling for Imus to come back, why not Isiah(sp)
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 2:01 pm ¶
Yolanda Carrington wrote:
For me it’s not an either/or question—his homophobia and the producers’ racism could both be at work here. Were his homophobic remarks out-of-line and a potential liability for ABC? Yes. Did he deserve to be fired for his actions? Yes. Could ABC be using Washington as a scapegoat only because he’s a Black man? Absolutely.
I personally believe that Isaiah Washington was fired because he was a legal and financial liability, for the same reason that old man Imus was fired. Corporations want to avoid public hot water as much as they can. Still, I’m loathe to accuse Mr. Washington of crying wolf on racism, because there is no time of the day when a person of color in this country is free from racism. As someone who struggles to hold men of color accountable for patriarchy and heterosexism, I can never let go of that fact.
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 2:20 pm ¶
Miss Profe wrote:
Yolanda said it best. I concur with her comment.
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 3:03 pm ¶
michelle wrote:
It saddens me that a man with such an amazing opportunity to showcase his talent would throw it all away. The writing on that show is incredible, his character was complex and brilliantly compelling. It was a dream job.
People are right, he was a liability. He allowed himself to become a liability. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes. But I do know, for a fact that on national television he said the word “faggot”. The context is irrelevent because that is all anyone heard. That is when he sealed his fate with ABC. Would he have been treated SLIGHTLY differently if he were white, maybe. But if you want to play the race card now, why didn’t you play it earlier and think before you open your mouth…or like dna said just STFU. Yolanda is right in everything she said. In light of that, Isiah Washington shouldn’t have given them a reason to fire him.
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 3:43 pm ¶
gandalf mantooth wrote:
Washington’s problem isn’t the use of race per se here, it’s the offense as defense overkill. He keeps bringing in these various incidents, not necessarily as evidence of ABC’s racism, but as evidence that he’s being used as a scapegoat when TJ is the real problem (or Dempsey or whomever). Using race could just be one part of his PR strategy, a strategy that seems to make him look shrill, though I don’t know that he cares at this point.
Pitts is terminally unreadable (how did you manage?). The “stop crying wolf” part of his argument is tiresome. Other columnists have taken this tack, saying that Washington “undermines” the fight against racism in Hollywood. Bollocks. I think they’re focusing on his comments about race as if they were his main argument rather than the alleged conspiracy by TJ.
Washington’s career was probably salvagable before his offensive. Now, it’s dead.
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 6:03 pm ¶
georgia wrote:
I actually think the show is a glorified version of General Hospital, but I appreciated the “diverse” cast. (where are the Indians/Pakistanis/Arabs in that hospital)
Isaiah Washington however is clearly a jerk.
Actors are never guaranteed anything, casting changes are made all the time for a variety of reasons that would not be acceptable in most other professions.
From Katherine Heigle’s comments on what happened I gathered that after the incident and then the outburst at the Golden Globes the set was probably very tense which probably complicates the work they have to do.
Also don’t forget that the show is successful and has several actors who are probably looking to renegotiate their salary.
I assume that personality and financial concerns influenced the decision, not Washington’s race.
I also think that his appearance on Larry King is just blame shifting, and the fact that he is trying to say that Patrick Dempsey is a bad actor makes him look desperate and foolish.
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 6:27 pm ¶
Naaz wrote:
“Still, I’m loathe to accuse Mr. Washington of crying wolf on racism, because there is no time of the day when a person of color in this country is free from racism.”
Right, but you can’t conflate systematic, institutional racism with operational, specific instances of racial discrimination. It’s counter-productive and inefficient in testing true claims of discrimination. It it also somewhat condescending as it robs an individual of his/her respective agency. A girl is born into this world under the mantle of patriarchy and will continue to live under this system, but that does not necessarily preclude her individual agency in utilizing other privileges and social modes of interaction to get ahead. As in, a white woman can strategically use her whiteness to get ahead in a situation where a woman of color may not.
Isaiah Washington may be living under a general guise of racism, but that does not preclude him from being truthful about the semantics and nature of his firing in this instance. There’s a difference between “crying wolf” about a system and crying wolf about individual situations (which he can indeed do in this situation, and probably did).
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 6:53 pm ¶
hoo_boy wrote:
Washington is, was, and has always been a jerk and a selfish, needy, narcssistc, difficult, boorish prima donna. Talented, though…
If you play your role (on and off the set), and they don’t play you (hopefully), in the end you don’t get played by anyone.
Washington’s never been able to realize *he’s* not the show, nor should he be, regardless of the production or his experience.
It’s hard enough for a black female executive producer and creator dealing with the politics of a multiethnic cast, studio dynamics, creative control, etc. wthout this jackass mutiny and constant undermining. Everyone else knows this is the sweetest deal of a gravy train except this ingrate. That’s why she kept her mouth shut and didn’t take sides (and rightly).
That said, I don’t think he’s a homophobe or a hater or a poseur in need of rehab. He said a bad word in response to a person, action, nothing in particular, etc.
So context is important. Without it, the bad word is simply a bad word that can be used to justify just about anything anyone wants. That’s dangerous stuff.
We have no proof of what kind of crap goes/went on behind the scenes for how long and who’s been prodding who(m) and punching which buttons. Knight could seriously be calling him a n*, who knows.
All I know is likeability *does not* equal credibility nor should it discount it.
[Disclosure: I detest this annoying damn show on so many levels…]
Posted 12 Jul 2007 at 7:45 pm ¶
Angela wrote:
Co-sign with Yolanda.
But I don’t think you can compare Imus to Washington because Imus was on air for q LONG time spewing his racism and sexism–with the full support of major sponsors who didn’t get cold feet until Imus said the wrong thing! And must I also add that I read a rumor at Sandra Rose that Imus may be getting his show back.
Posted 13 Jul 2007 at 12:47 am ¶
cinattra wrote:
Doesn’t matter why he was fired the relationship between Dr. Burke (I. Washington) and Dr. Yang (S. Oh) was the main reason to watch the show. Everyone else’s relationship was beyond dysfunctional and tiresome. The show should be called who am I gonna sleep with this week.
Thank God the black characters didn’t have to endure that moral degradation. Dr. Bailey (C. Wilson) and Dr. Karev (Justin Chambers) will have to hold the show together. Whatever… I’ll be watching Addison’s spin-off anyway.
Posted 14 Jul 2007 at 8:31 pm ¶
byrdparker wrote:
He was fired , because he became boisterous / violent , and in combination with the black skin , he was let go . An agressive assertive black man In the workplace is not tolerated. Most educated blacks know there is a game played , and it is called play by mr charlies rules, you learn this when u go to school/ college . Violence , no matter if they hit you , get in your face or spit on you is out the question . If you get yourself in the position where they yell at you and you start to yell back they make you out too be the craz.
People say the word faggot , nigger , bitch and ho all the time . And there are certain contexts when using these words that people understand if they should get mad or let it ride. We also know it is harder for a black man to get a cab , and white people/ women get nervous when arround you , they get off the elevator , move to the side .
This case was overhyped by media and that gay organization ( the name slipps me ) .
too hoo boy .
their are many talented arrogant primadonna , boorish white actors , but they never get or slapped with rehab , let me name a few
sean penn
marlon brando
mark wahlberg
instead they become , known as talented , tortured creative , the become deities of show biz.
Some thing’s never change . If Mr Washington wants to attain a illustrious career in the film / tv business , he will have to learn to be in the world but not of it . He will need to learn to ignore others follies , even if it is right in front of his face.
Posted 15 Jul 2007 at 10:24 am ¶
squidfly wrote:
hoo_boy wrote:
I concur.
Washington originally auditioned for Dempsey’s role. More ego than race.
Brando by the way earned his notches, he was a major supporter of Civil Rights, Native American Rights and Nuclear Disarmament. Marlon Brando cannot be compared with the actors above, as he was more than just an actor.
Please no Sean Penn comparisons.
Posted 15 Jul 2007 at 3:33 pm ¶
eric daniels wrote:
Washington like Mel Gibson violated one the two rules of living in Hollywood “Thou shalt not slander white gays and Jews in Hollywood”. Also Washington did not get along with his fellow cast members, most creative people can deal with jerks as long as the album or movie gets done . But Washington choked Patrick Dempsey on the set, most people know you don’t choke your fellow employees on your job and then get ‘mad negroish’ and say “I ain’t like that f-word T.R.”
You will lose your gig and since Washington made about 8-12 million working on Grey’s I don’t think Brothaman is straving. But it does bring up a fact that White Gays on many sites have used racist slurs against Washington and Black Gays on the sites I have visited. This is now an issue of White Gays and their sterotypes of Black Males as sexual objects, Washington can complain about the unfairness of not being renewed but you don’t choke someone on your job and a Black Male should know better and Washington is not above how we are protrayed in America.
Carmen, I wanted to use the other word instead of “negroish” but I didn’t out of respect for the site and you. You see I love you guys.
Posted 17 Jul 2007 at 4:10 pm ¶