What exactly can an actor say when his outburst prompts a fellow cast member to have to “come out of the closet” and announce to the world he is gay? However you slice and dice it, an apology just isn’t good enough.

Isaiah Washington released an apology to People Magazine:

“I sincerely regret my actions and the unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set,” Washington tells People. “Both are beneath my own personal standards. I have nothing but respect for my coworkers … and have apologized personally to everyone involved.”

And it is a pretty dangerous game for an actor to play, especially when his character could easily be written out. Hit ABC shows have a habit of firing actors for bad behavior (remember both Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros got canned from Lost after D.U.I. arrests; Page Kennedy was fired from Desperate Housewives after “improper behavior”, widely believed to be flashing the wives on set) so I wouldn’t be surprised if Dr. Burke ends up heading up research at some far away hospital once his hand tremor is revealed to all.

Unfortunately, Shonda Rhimes has knocked down any rumors that he would be leaving the series or that he would be replaced by ER’s Eric La Salle.

Too bad. I have lost all respect for Isaiah Washington since this incident, especially because it has dramatically affected the life of T.R. Knight, whom he outted. He should have quit the show out of decency to all the other cast members involved. You have to wonder, how can the rest of the cast ever respect Washington again?

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This spoiler posted on Monday, October 30th, 2006 at 5:09 am.

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