After an apology and the mass media hubbub over Grey's Anatomy co-star Isaiah Washington's use of anti-gay slurs to fellow co-star T.R. Knight, Washington sat down with two national GLBT organizations, marking the beginning of an ongoing partnership.
Washington met with the heads of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) and Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network ( GLSEN ) on the first day of GLSEN's annual No Name-Calling Week, which launched Jan. 22 in schools across the nation, to educate youth about the impact of hateful words.
'It was a good exchange; a good dialogue,' GLAAD president Neil Giuliano told Windy City Times following the meeting. 'I believe he genuinely understands the harm and the hurt that he caused, and wants to make amends. He knows it will be his actions, more than his words of apology, that will clearly indicate this.'
Both GLAAD and GLSEN hope that the meeting marks the beginning of an ongoing relationship with the actor. Giuliano said that the Grey's Anatomy star indicated that he wants to get engaged with the GLBT community in order to make amends, and the idea of future projects were discussed. The groups plan to have another meeting with Washington in the near future.
Washington has previously said that he has no explanation for his actions, and feels that it was just a terrible mistake on his part, but now understands the harm he caused by his words.
Working with two national gay organizations is not all the star is doing. On Jan. 24, news broke that Washington had entered a residential treatment facility in order to seek counseling.
In a statement, he said, 'I regard this as a necessary step toward understanding why I did what I did and making sure it never happens again. I appreciate the fact that I have been given this opportunity and I remain committed to transforming my negative actions into positive results, personally and professionally.'
GLAAD recently released its 2006 list of the worst anti-gay defamers in the media, including Chris Dobson ( Focus on the Family ) and Chris Matthews ( Hardball with Chris Matthews, MSNBC ) . However, there are rumblings in the larger GLBT community that the organization did not do enough to address issues such as the anti-gay slurs all over the media during the Mark Foley scandal, and has instead decided to make the actor into some sort of whipping boy.
According to Giuliano, GLAAD chose to focus intently on the Grey's Anatomy issue over other instances in the media for a very specific reason: 'They are not actors on a number-one television series.
' … He will reach millions and millions of people that we would otherwise not reach with that message. That's an opportunity for all of us to have a new ally—an ally who gets attention and people are going to listen to because of the terrible thing that happened.'
This course of action has caused many to also wonder if the gay media watchdog's priorities are misplaced.
'I disagree,' Giuliano said, adding that larger GLBT organizations such as GLAAD did respond to other defamers in the media, for example, during the Mark Foley scandal, but just didn't get the same kind of attention. Not only is that true, but also most of the main offenders were on hard-news programs, a completely different format from the number one television series.
'We went on several of the shows as quickly as they would let us come on, and got psychologists placed on those shows and so forth to correct them,' Giuliano said.
GLAAD also did much of the same when some media figures were using anti-gay language following the announcement of Mary Cheney's pregnancy. 'That's the role that we play as much as we can, when they are willing to let us.' Giuliano added.
It also doesn't hurt that someone like Washington was far more approachable. 'It certainly helps when the person, the offender, is willing to acknowledge they made a mistake and wants to correct it,' Giuliano said.
Although much has been done following the incident, GLAAD expresses that it isn't 100 percent satisfied yet. 'There's still a whole lot more that needs to happen. We're pleased that we've been able to move beyond our anger and our outrage at this incident, and be able to move towards something productive. That doesn't mean that we're not still angry and outraged, because we are. But we have to move beyond that to make something positive out of this for the overall community, and engage someone with visibility like Isaiah Washington and take a stance against anti-gay hatred and bigotry. That's an opportunity for all of us.'
