The slur that was

Y'all know my love of celebrity gossip. And, you've had to endure my opinions about issues concerning the rights of the downtrodden like women, children, people of color, gay people, etc.

So, it should really come as no surprise that I want to comment about the whole Grey's Anatomy flap.

As I understand it from media reports, Mr. Washington and Mr. Dempsey, two primary actors on the show, were in a dispute or "fight." At some point during the dispute, Mr. Washington called Mr. Knight, another primary actor on the show, a "faggot." I don't really know why this third person was pulled in, although I imagine Mr. Knight may have tried to intervene in the original dispute. In the days after the incident, not much was said about the original dispute, but apologies were offered for the offending "faggot" remark.

Then, just when we thought happiness and rainbows and little birds singing had returned, Mr. Washington revived the issue during remarks after the cast received awards for their work. But, this time, Mr. Washington said that he never said "faggot" and that it "never happened." Apparently, this was untrue on every level.

So, again, people picking sides, apologies, the media in overdrive.

I have a thought or two on the issue. First, of course, bad Mr. Washington, very bad indeed. Second, media reports indicate that after the golden globes revival, Mr. Washington issued his second apology after firing his publicist. Um, WHY? How is your inability to keep a civil tongue in your mouth your publicist's fault? Unless it was hers or his job to duct tape your mouth before you went on stage.

But, more importantly, I think there is a whole lot more going on here than just poorly chosen words and bad taste. I think Mr. Washington has decided to garner all the attention to himself by any means possible. Mr. Gibson did it. Mr. Richards did it. So why not make yours a household name by being very bad? Just be grateful he didn't take a page from Ms. Spear's play book. Really.

Oh yeah - one last thing - perhaps Mr. Washington ought to devote some of his "soul searching" and "getting help" towards his anger issues. Seriously, if you are in public disputes that are really your fault with your co-workers, you refuse to take responsibility for your actions until you are forced to, and you fire someone who is totally innocent for your stupidity - you've got more than just an issue with poor communication skills.