Isaiah Washington has been fired from Grey's Anatomy. The suspense has ended.Howard Bragman, Washington's publicist, says Washington's option was not renewed, and released this statement from the actor: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more." Bragman did not elaborate on the statement, a reference to the 1976 film Network.That's too bad. I always liked the character of Dr Burke, although I was never able to look at him the same way after the "incident" with T.R. Knight.
"According to one insider close to the negotiation, Knight has agreed to a new contract that will boost his per-episode salary to roughly $125,000 and give him
a small piece of the show profits (pay hikes and profit points were also granted to many of Knight's co-stars, including Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo, and Sandra Oh)."
But what about trouble maker Isaiah Washington?
"Still up in the air: the fate of Washington, whose character, the arrogant Preston Burke, appeared to flee Seattle in the finale. That said, the same insider hints that Washington will be back as a series regular (though without the boost in pay rewarded to his co-stars)."In other Grey's news, Patrick Dempsey told MSNBC that he wasn't all that into the depressing season,
"I would love for Derek and Meredith to have a healthy relationship. It got a little too depressing last year."Ellen Pomeo agrees,
"I don't think you need sadness to have drama."
"He will not be back as a series regular. He could possibly show up for a few episodes" next season.However, Washington's rep disputes the report saying,
"Isaiah is not off the show. We do not have a contract yet, but we expect to."
"The cast - especially the women - just don't like him."
"I literally don't know. It would be nice to know if I'm supposed to report back soon. If you're supposed to report back to work in a month and a half, I would really like to know that because I would like to know if I can shave my head."
Heigl will play a single woman who has served as a bridesmaid 27 times. She is enlisted once again for the job, and this time it's particularly painful: Her sister is marrying the man the bridesmaid is madly in love with.
The casting for the Grey's Anatomy spin off continues. The spin off slated to start as early as this May sounds like it is going to center around Kate Walsh's character, Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepard.The story line for the two-hour episode, being written by "Grey's" creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes, is being kept under wraps, but it is understood that it will feature popular "Grey's" character Addison Montgomery-Shepherd (Walsh) on the verge of leaving Seattle Grace, a scenario that will be triggered if ABC goes with the spinoff for next season.She is going to have plenty of hot men to choose from which should take her mind off of 'Dr. McSteamy'. The latest actors added to the spin off include Taye Diggs, Tim Daly (of The Nine and of course Wings) and Paul Adelstein (currently on Prision Break). All three come from impressive shows and are an interesting trio of men. I just hope they don't give them all 'Mc' names.
Katherine Heigle is a bit upset with her bosses over at Touchstone for going public about the contract negotiations. After reports came out that Heigl had dropped out of contract talks, Touchstone responded by saying,"I am embarrassed that this has become a public matter and disappointed that Touchstone felt it necessary to divulge private employment information," Heigl, 28, said in a statement Thursday. "I had hoped I would be able to deal with this issue confidentially with my bosses. I dropped out of the renegotiation simply because I wanted to treat myself with the respect I was not getting from them. No matter how unhappy I am about their decision to respond to this publicly, I continue to be passionate about and committed to this character."Well, the good news is that Izzy isn't going anywhere! It's a shame to hear that there is so much trouble over there in Grey's land though. Between this and the Isaiah mess, I just hope they all stick it out and keep churning out fantastic shows.
"Katie is disappointed and hurt that (producer) Touchstone doesn't value her as much as her other costars, especially Sandra Oh and Isaiah Washington," the source says.
"The rest of the cast seemed instantly resentful of Walsh. They each thought they'd be the one chosen to get their own show, and now they're giving Kate the cold shoulder."The source goes on to say that Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meridith Grey,
"seemed particularly peeved because she felt that, as the star, she should have been consulted."
The twins, named Darby Galen and Sullivan Patrick, were born in Los Angeles.How cute do you think those two boys are going to be? Congratulations McDreamy!
They join 4-year-old sister Talula in the Dempsey household.
Isaiah Washington is just not anti-gay, he's angry with everyone Rush & Molloy reports. Washington is in a 30 day anger management program, after calling fellow Grey's cast member TR Knight a "faggot".Veteran stage actress Madeline McCray was there when, a source says, Washington punched out a fellow actor who was - like Washington - straight and African-American. At the time, McCray and Washington were starring in August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fences". Isaiah's not anti-gay; he's a hothead," McCray told us. "It's that his anger leads him to say and do things he wishes he hadn't - to everybody. He's always had a lack of control over his temper.Good luck Isaiah. You've got even more to lose now that Grey's Anatomy has won a SAG Award for best ensemble cast. It's probably just as hard to give up drinking as it is to stop punching out everyone that irritates you. You can't even say "the drink made me do it".
“He kept his word, but then the whole thing blew up again at the Golden Globes, and when he was asked about it, he basically called Isaiah a liar,” says the source. “He feels that the atmosphere there is so toxic and unhealthy. I suppose things could change and we would stay, but for now, he’s planning to leave the show.”
