'Grey's Anatomy' Alum Isaiah Washington Retiring

Isaiah Washington played Preston Burke, a cardiothoracic surgeon who sparked a romance with Sandra Oh's character, Christina Yang. Washington was part of the show from the first season until he was let go in the finale of the third season.

He was fired after he made homophobic comments against one of his co-workers on the show, T.R. Knight. Originally, Washington denied such statements but later admitted and apologized.

First, he defended himself, saying there was no way he acted vile and cruelly against one of his co-workers on set. Still, he used the slur again during the 2007 Golden Globes Awards.

Washington said, "I can neither defend nor explain my behavior, I can also no longer deny to myself that there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I've asked for help," regarding his apology.

Isaiah's contract was immediately terminated. He appeared again as a guest on season 10, but his actions caused Knight, who played George on the show, to come out publicly, according to People magazine.

Then, he was part of The 100 as Thelonious Jaha from seasons 1 to 5. However, Washington last acted on TV in 2018, and on February 28 this year, he announced his official retirement from acting.

"I have fought the good fight, but it seems that the haters, provocateurs and the useful Idiots have won," read his tweet.

In 2022, he appeared as the lead role, producer, and director in the western movie, Corsicana. Isaiah added that that would be the last time he would be seen as an actor. The film didn't have a lot of publicity or reviews.

Washington also said he didn't like to get involved in politics; however, he added to his statement that he would be traveling the country and sharing his adventures on his Twitter account before it fell into Socialism and Communism.

He followed, "Until then, know that this Frederick Douglass Conservative will keep his powder dry and loves you all!" His fans replied to his statement, saying how sorry they are he took this direction.

Washington was highly controversial on the set of Grey's Anatomy. In 2021, it was revealed that he initially auditioned to play Derek Shepherd, Ellen Pompeo's romantic interest since season one, who was played by Patrick Dempsey instead.

Still, Ellen didn't want to get involved with Washington. He commented, "the context is that she's not into white men. I guess she implied that her boyfriend may have had a problem with her doing love scenes with me, so she felt uncomfortable. I supported her with that."

Pompeo added, "I didn't want him. It was too close to home," saying she always wanted Dempsey to play the role of McDreamy.

He also had a feud with Katherine Heigl, who was part of the show as Isobel Stevens from season 1 until season 6. Heigl got involved after Washington's homophobic slur against Knight.

She said, "I'm going to be really honest right now. He needs to just not speak in public. Period." She defended Knight, a close friend of hers, against Washington's hate speech.

It wasn't until 2020 that he responded to Katherine's statement. He got on Twitter and said he was only making use of his free speech right.

His tweet implied that Heigl might be responsible for all the hate and criticism he receives.

Katherine didn't talk about his statement; however, a close source said she stands by what she said and will always be an ally for the LGBTQ community.

Preston Burke's return to the show was highly controversial, but Shonda Rhimes, the creator of the show, said she wanted a nice closure for Cristina since Sandra Oh was proximate to departure from the show. She explained Isaiah's character was necessary for this closure.