TR Knight on Ellen

from TMZ.com

Knight: Isaiah Forced Me Out with "Faggot" Slur

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Posted Jan 17th 2007 10:45AM by TMZ Staff

T.R. Knight says that Isaiah Washington forced him out of the closet when he called him a "faggot" on the set of "Grey's Anatomy."

What's more, Knight tells Ellen DeGeneres that he's dumbfounded by Washington's denial of having called Knight a "faggot" in a scuffle with "Grey's" co-star Patrick Dempsey. Washington offered the denial in an interview at Monday's Golden Globes. Knight, in turn, told Ellen, "I don't know what to say, really, about that."

Knight also says that he'd never been called by the slur "to his face," and when he heard Washington refer to him in that way, "something shifted, and it became bigger than myself." Shortly thereafter Knight revealed to People magazine that he is, in fact, gay, but says he never intended to before the incident. "It became important to make the statement," he says.

Knight appears on today's episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Check your local listings.

And from Michael Ausiello at TV Guide:

Question: Hey, Michael, were you in the press room when Isaiah Washington hijacked the microphone and said, "I did not call T.R. Knight a f----t!" And, if so, care to give us the scoop?— Genie

Ausiello: I certainly was there, and I have the internal scars to prove it. It was by far the ugliest, most uncomfortable press-room moment I have ever experienced. And judging by the shell-shocked faces on the cast — particularly T.R. Knight and Patrick Dempsey, who have been class acts throughout this entire ordeal — it was a new low for them, too. And what's ironic about the whole thing is that in Washington's attempt to clear his name, he came off as an out-of-control homophobe who throws the f-word around like it's candy. (He's also playing fast and loose with the truth. Did he call T.R. a f----t to his face? No. Did he refer to him as one behind his back? Yes. T.R. says so himself on today's Ellen DeGeneres Show.) His continued employment on a show that wears its diversity as a badge of honor is the height of hypocrisy. If ABC wants to be remotely true to the principles Shonda Rhimes so eloquently espouses through the show, it has to do the right thing and fire Washington. Anything else at this point is simply unacceptable.