Isaiah Says They Fired The Wrong Guy

"They fired the wrong guy," Isaiah Washington said today.
The former Dr. Preston Burke on ABC's hit series Grey's Anatomy told the Houston Chronicle that T.R. Knight should have been fired from the show.
Washington was let go on June 7, just a month before filming for the new season was to begin. He has been slammed with negative publicity since October. That's when he allegedly used an anti-gay slur during an on-set disagreement with co-star Patrick Dempsey.
The Houston native's interviews with the media since then have been limited.
"I have to clear my name," a determined Washington told the Houston Chronicle in a telephone interview from the set of his new movie, The Least of These. "I'll start from the beginning. I'm telling everything. So here's the truth."
Washington said Knight, who plays Dr. George O'Malley, stirred up the notion that the slur was targeted at him and created a negative work environment. Washington also alleged that Knight likely wanted a salary increase and a more substantive role for his character.
Knight, who acknowledged that he was gay after the incident, told Ellen DeGeneres in January that Washington used the slur against him and that "everyone (on the set) heard it."
"That's a lie," Washington said. "I used the word during a disagreement with Patrick. I apologized for that. We shook hands and went back to work."
He said he is considering a lawsuit. "My livelihood, my honor and dignity and my name have been so challenged."
Washington said his firing was a big disappointment.
"I was not fired for making homophobic slurs," he said. "I did everything I said I would do. I offered to go to counseling, to do a public service announcement. I wanted everyone to know I was remorseful."
Washington said he asked to be released from his contract last fall after the first incident, then again in January when he repeated the slur at the Golden Globes. His use of the word at the awards ceremony was taken out of context, he said. He was responding to a reporter's question about whether he had used the slur.
He said he regrets that his actions overshadowed Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes' win for best TV series drama.
Washington learned ABC would not renew his contract in a tearful call from Rhimes.
"That was a shock," he said. "I did everything they told me to do, including not saying anything, and then they didn't renew my contract. That's not fair."
ABC executives declined to comment Wednesday.
The 43-year-old Washington said this was the first negative incident in his 20 years in Hollywood.
He said he made three errors in judgment: "believing the cast of Grey's Anatomy were like family; believing I had the freedom to express myself with family and that we could resolve our issues; and trusting ABC was going to take care of me.
"I'm not angry. I'm disappointed."
from The Houston Chronicle

T.R. Knight Back On Greys Anatomy

Though the Grey's Anatomy finale left fans with lots of questions, at least one mystery appears to have been solved: T.R. Knight, a.k.a. the lovable George O'Malley, is expected to return as a series regular. Speculation has been swirling about his possible departure from Seattle Grace — not only because of what happened in the May 17 finale (George didn't pass the intern exam!) but because of the incident earlier this season with co-star Isaiah Washington (who addressed him with a homophobic slur). 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).
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). ''A cliffhanger is meant to keep the audience in anticipation and intrigue until fall,'' demurred a spokesman for ABC Television Studios, which produces Grey's for ABC. Washington's publicist also declined comment.
from Entertainment Weekly

T.R. Knight Unsure Of Future With 'Grey's Anatomy'

Access caught up with "Grey's Anatomy" star T.R. Knight last night as he was co-hosting the 52nd annual OBIE awards (honoring achievements in the off-Broadway stage) in New York City , when he admitted that he was unsure if he would be returning to "Grey's" next season.
"I literally don't know," he said. "It would be nice to know if I'm supposed to report back soon."
With his character's fate up in the air after failing his intern test in the medical drama's season finale, along with rumors of unease on the set due to September's "homophobic slur" incident with castmate Isaiah Washington, fans are anxious about whether Knight will return.
Knight told Access that he got a lot of calls from friends after the finale, wanting to know if he will be back. He thinks the producers haven't told him because actors have big mouths and would tell everyone, but that doesn't alleviate his anxiety.
"If you're supposed to report back to work in a month and a half, I would really like to know that," he remarked, adding, "because I would like to know if I can shave my head."
Knight, known for coloring his hair vibrant colors from time to time, was photographed last week with a bright red head of hair. It was back to its natural shade of brown, however, for last night's awards presentation.
from Access Hollywood

Washington Remaining on Grey's Anatomy?

Isaiah Washington's Dr. Preston Burke packed his bags on the season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" but that doesn't mean the actor is being dumped by the show, his publicist said Friday.
"We fully expect to be back in the fall," spokesman Howard Bragman said. "The deal's not done but we have no reason to believe he won't be putting on the scrubs."
A furor over Washington's use of an anti-gay slur had provoked speculation that his job might be in jeopardy. He said the word backstage at the Golden Globe Awards in January while denying he'd used it previously against castmate T.R. Knight.
Thursday's finale seemed to open the door for the departure of Washington's character. Burke was on the verge of marrying Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), but her doubts at first delayed and then derailed their splashy wedding.
"I'm up there waiting for you to come down the aisle and I know you don't want to come," Burke told a shocked Cristina. "If I loved you, I wouldn't be up there waiting for you. I would be letting you go."
Then he did just that. Later, Cristina found that Burke had cleared his favorite possessions out of their apartment.
ABC declined comment Friday on Washington's status.
But a source close to the production, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to comment publicly, said the finale doesn't indicate that Washington is a goner from "Grey's."
"A lot of character story lines were left in question. It's a cliffhanger finale," the source said. "T.R's character looks like he could be going. ... It doesn't necessarily mean anything."
Knight's character, George O'Malley, was the only intern to fail the end-of-year exam and he was seen in the finale cleaning out his locker after deciding against repeating his intern stint.
Washington will spend the summer working, his publicist said, not worrying about the show. The actor leaves next week to continue his charity work in Sierra Leone, which a DNA test showed to be his ancestral home.
Washington, who started a nonprofit foundation last year to improve the lives of people in the West African nation, plans to deliver mosquito netting and check on a school he helped found.
He'll also spend part of his summer break working on an independent film, "The Least of These," Bragman said. Washington expects to be back at work on "Grey's Anatomy" when production resumes in August, he said.
Washington filmed a public service announcement on behalf of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network after the flap. The spot is in post-production, a GLAAD spokesman said Friday.
from The Associated Press

Here's The Dirt On Using This 'F' Word

Is a common epithet for homosexuals becoming a new N word, verboten in civil discourse?
Grey's Anatomy actor Isaiah Washington got into a world of trouble last week for twice using a homophobic slur starting with the letter F to describe castmate T.R. Knight, who was not pleased. Neither were gay and lesbian groups and Washington's bosses at ABC. The actor apologized and entered counseling.
But the media hubbub about the f-word — not that other f-word — has spotlighted a subtle shift in the national culture, showing how language and attitudes are connected and how the definitions of what is and isn't acceptable are changing.
"We are in a place where the words traditionally considered the most obscene — sexual and scatological words — are viewed as less and less offensive, while words that are ethnic and religious slurs have increased in offensiveness," says Jesse Sheidlower, editor at large of the Oxford English Dictionary.
The more we care what blacks, Hispanics or gays think, he says, "the more attuned we are to slurs against them."
Grey's co-star Katherine Heigl, Knight's pal, says the word should be "obliterated."
"It breeds hate," she said backstage at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards.
It's not clear how the f-word came to have a homophobic meaning, Sheidlower says. Five hundred years ago, "faggot" meant a bundle of twigs or kindling, which gave rise to the British colloquialism "fag" for cigarette.
But, as is common in the English language, words with the same spelling and pronunciation can mean something entirely different. "No one knows the origin, but there's some evidence that (the term) may have referred to a bad-tempered woman in the 16th century," Sheidlower says.
"What is clear is that it is a word now used to denigrate and dehumanize people — and not just gay people," says Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). "It's a tear-you-apart kind of a term."
But "queer" isn't, or at least not anymore. Not with Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Queer as Folk on television, "queer studies" in universities, and groups such as the Queer Association of Scientists and Researchers.
"It's very different from the f-word because it's tied to (the meaning) 'strange' or 'odd,' " Giuliano says. Young gays "have reclaimed it and used it to self-identify."
In any case, both the f-word and the n-word have been heard on TV recently. In this week's episode of the tabloid drama Dirt, on cable's FX, a character uses the f-word to refer to a macho action star about to be outed. It has been used on episodes of The Sopranos, and gay activist/writer Larry Kramer titled his 1978 satirical novel Faggots. And the n-word, perhaps the most offensive of all slurs, was used — by black characters to other black characters — in recent episodes of Dirt and NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
"Context is everything," Dirt producer Matthew Carnahan says. "We certainly are not trying to spread anything even remotely resembling hatred or bigotry of any kind. This show is all about everyone being flawed, wild and crazy."
What if Washington had used "queer" instead of that f-word?
"It would have been just as bad because it was in the context of a put-down," Giuliano says. "The fortunate aspect of this unfortunate situation is that many more people will see that casual and mean-spirited use of this word is unacceptable."
from USA Today

Yet Another Actor Acting Out

Long before he became a co-star on the hit TV show "Grey's Anatomy," Isaiah Washington distinguished himself as an actor with an intellectual bent. In an essay published in Essence magazine a little more than a decade ago, he lamented the shortage of good roles for black male performers. After complaining about being offered five "drag-queen" roles in less than a year, Washington expressed his determination to "infuse the characters I play with some level of complexity and humanity."
In eloquent, thoughtful prose, Washington assured readers that he had no problem with gay characters or characters in drag. He recalled his first amateur acting job, the role of Sweetie Pie, "a flaming drag queen and gospel singer." Later, as a member of a touring repertory company, he played a cross-dressing character with AIDS. "That role gave me a firsthand look at gay-bashing," he wrote. "I was the target of angry expletives, jeers and nervous laughter and was even spat upon by a junior-high-school student who took my performance just a little too seriously."
He went on to praise the gay transvestites shown in the documentary "Paris Is Burning" while condemning Hollywood's "narrow depictions of African-American male characters."
That essay and other comments strongly suggested that Washington was a man of sensitivity and conscience, not just another hunk with cheekbones and charm. He confirmed this early impression with memorable appearances in films such as HBO's "Always Outnumbered" and Spike Lee's "Get on the Bus." In that film, Washington played one half of a gay couple.
All of which makes his recent meltdown as puzzling as it was repulsive. In a brief, tumultuous span, Washington notoriously invoked the word "faggot" -- twice -- with regard to a gay castmate. His cruel slur-slinging makes one wonder if his previous musings on "complexity" and "humanity" were merely pleasantries spun from a publicist's clever imagination.
Television and movie stars are seldom confused with brain surgeons, and hardly a news cycle passes without some dimpled dimwit choking on his or her own foot. Still, Washington, who won an NAACP Image Award just last year, has never seemed a likely candidate for such an appalling celebrity stumble. Unlike, say, Mel Gibson, whose father had been linked to anti-Semitic sentiment, or former Sen. George Allen, who had been known to keep a noose in his office, Washington had never toiled under a cloud of suspicion. If anything, he was known as a performer who could be counted on to say the right thing.
Describing himself as "always sensitive to my own community," he told the theater magazine Backstage, "I finally decided, 'I'm no longer going to play thugs or debauched cops that I can't possibly make complex characters. I'm bigger than that."
Now it seems that Washington has become a complex character himself; he doesn't just play one on TV. While rumors of his imminent dismissal swirled through cyberspace, Washington ran the gauntlet of repentance now required of errant celebrities: He fired his publicist, issued an abject apology and rushed to meet with representatives of the aggrieved party.
Officials from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network met with the actor on Jan. 22. As might be expected, they've adopted a polite, time-will-tell stance. GLSEN executive director Kevin Jennings said Washington "seemed to particularly appreciate the impact these words have on young people in schools and expressed an interest in becoming an ally in GLSEN's effort to educate young people about the negative impact of name-calling and bullying." Young people like that junior-high student who spat on Washington some years before.
Such a mission would certainly have appealed to that forthright essayist in Essence magazine, who impressively asserted, "I've always viewed acting as a way to explore important issues of the day, such as gender differences and sexuality." That's the kind of performing we'd all like to see from Washington, instead of merely acting out.
from The Washington Post / Jabari Asim

Did GLAAD Make Us Happy?

Yesterday and today there was much speculation as to whether ABC would fire Isaiah Washington. Would they or wouldn’t they? To my mind, as soon as word leaked of Washington’s meeting yesterday with GLAAD and GLSEN (via joint press release) the writing was on the wall. My gut tells me ABC does not plan on sacking Washington. Instead, the network is doing what it can to rehabilitate his tarnished image. They enlisted the help of two established gay rights groups to do just that.
Turns out ABC was responsible for arranging the GLAAD/GLSEN meeting with Washington yesterday. Something they would not have done if they were truly planning on firing him. And maybe I’m a cynic, but the result of this ceremonial powwow was a foregone conclusion. It’s quite possible they had the press release drafted before the meeting ever started. The headlines read “Gay Leaders Applaud Washington for Willingness to Meet With Them.” Or “Washington Makes Amends with Gay Community“
I confess, I’m discouraged (though hardly surprised) that GLAAD (and GLSEN) would participate in this white-washing. But I do see the logic to it: GLAAD’s influence over the media establishment is limited. To get a (non-voting) seat at the table they must horse-trade with the very organizations they are tasked to monitor.
The trade provided here was effectively rubber-stamping Isaiah Washington’s “road to rehabilitation” and thus clearing a path for ABC to keep him. They do this in return for a few public service announcements and to bolster perceptions of their legitimacy and influence in the cultural landscape. I should clarify, I’m not knocking GLAAD and GLSEN’s objectives. They do very important work. Horse-trading is simply a necessary evil to achieve their honorable larger goals. Only, in this particular instance I’m not sure they made a good trade.
For their sakes, I hope Isaiah Washington doesn’t revert to homophobic form down the line — making fools of everyone involved in this rehabilitation charade.
In the meantime, looks to me like Washington stays on Grey’s Anatomy. Does anyone else think that may be the optimal result for the LGBT community? There’s a surprisingly large segment of the population that already sees him as the victim. Booting him from Grey’s only makes him a martyr.
from AfterElton / Dennis Ayers

Reichen Lehmkuhl On Isaiah Washington

Lance Bass' gay lover Reichen Lehmkuhl is glad Isaiah Washington's "faggot" outburst has turned the public against the actor - because it will hopefully prompt people to think twice before using the 'f' word. The former model has written a new book about his nightmare experiences as a homosexual in the military, and he believes the Washington controversy will further help people understand what gay men have to put up with. Lehmkuhl says, "It (Washington's controversy) dumps a lot of emotion on me. I think it brings the issue to light. A lot of people learn, when you use this word now, it's not OK." Washington has officially apologised for his use of the 'f' word at the Golden Globe Awards last week , admitting, in a statement released last week , he needs help. The controversy first came to light last October when Washington referred to gay Grey's Anatomy castmate T.R. Knight as a "faggot" in a heated on-set row with co-star Patrick Dempsey.
from Contact Music

Isaiah Washington: 'I Need Help'

HOLLYWOOD - Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington has accepted he needs help after "marring" his castmates' magical night at the Golden Globe Awards on Monday by using an anti-gay slur in a press conference.
The actor grabbed the microphone in the press room, after picking up the Best TV Drama prize with his costars, and attempted to address ongoing reports about his on-set spat with fellow TV surgeon Patrick Dempsey.
Last October's fight started after Washington called gay costar T.R. Knight a "faggot," with Knight coming clean about his sexuality following the incident.
At the Globes, Washington blurted out the 'f' word as he foolishly insisted he never used the derogatory term, calling it "vile."
Knight has since appeared on TV talk show Ellen to confirm Washington did indeed refer to him as a “faggot” on the Grey's Anatomy set.
Bosses at ABC, which airs the show, have issued a statement criticizing Washington for his Golden Globes gaffe, with Washington coming forward to further apologize for his comments.
In a statement, released late yesterday the actor, who played a gay man in Spike Lee's Get on the Bus, said, "I apologize to T.R., my colleagues, the fans of the show and especially the lesbian and gay community for using a word that is unacceptable in any context or circumstance.
"By repeating the word Monday night, I marred what should have been a perfect night for everyone who works on Grey's Anatomy. 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.
"I know the power of words, especially those that demean. I realize that, by using one filled with disrespect, I have hurt more than T.R. and my colleagues. With one word, I've hurt everyone who has struggled for the respect so many of us take for granted."
Washington has accepted an invitation to meet with gay activists and hopes to talk to them about "what I can do to heal the wounds I've opened," adding, "I intend to let my future actions prove my sincerity."
As WENN went to press, more than 9,000 Grey's Anatomy fans had signed an Internet petition urging ABC bosses to fire Washington over his comments.
from Hollywood.com

Katherine Heigl Lashes Out At Co-Star Over Homophobic Slur

LOS ANGELES – "Grey's Anatomy" star Katherine Heigl is taking a stand against her "Grey's" co-star Isaiah Washington after he used a homophobic slur in the Golden Globes press room on Monday night.
"I am not okay with it," Heigl told Access Hollywood's Shaun Robinson, referring to Washington's remarks.
In the Globes press room on Monday, Washington tried to set the record straight in regards to reports in October of an on-set incident that resulted from the alleged use of a homophobic slur toward co-star T.R. Knight.
After a reporter questioned the validity of the on-set incident, Washington denied his involvement saying, "No, I did not call T.R. a faggot. Never happened, never happened."
In response to Washington's use of the slur when addressing the situation last night, Heigl spoke out.
"I'm going to be really honest right now, he needs to just not speak in public. Period. I'm sorry, that did not need to be said, I'm not okay with it," Katherine told Shaun.
When asked if she thought it was just an off-the-cuff remark, Heigl added, "I have no idea what it was, I just find it hurtful…I just feel like this is something that should be very much in house we need to deal with and it's among us and the cast and crew and among Shonda [Rimes, show creator] and the producers."
Heigl said that she hoped they work the situation out, making her loyalty to Knight, who plays Dr. George O'Malley on the hit show, clear.
"I don't think [Washington] means it the way he comes off…But, T.R. is my best friend. I will throw down for that kid. I will beat you up. I will use every ounce of energy I have to take you down if you hurt his feelings," she said.
When asked if she thought Knight was hurt by Washington's comments she added, "I don't see how you could not be under those circumstances. Drawing attention to it and saying the word again is just unnecessary."
After making his comments in the press room, Washington came straight to Access Hollywood's Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell to explain.
"There is no way I could do anything so vile, and so horrible, not only to a castmate, but to a fellow human being," he insisted.
When asked what spurred his comments on the October incident Washington told Bush, "It's the truth. It did not happen. I was going to hire some other great shiny publicist, but you know what, God laid it on my heart to say it because it was so close. The reports were all wrong. It did not happen. I'm very disappointed that the New York Post actually wrote legitimately about something that was put in a tabloid about some angry person to get some validity to this, and then it just rippled."
Washington also said that he and co-star Patrick Dempsey have moved beyond the October incident.
"I kiss Patrick Dempsey. We sing 'Ebony and Ivory' everyday since the so-called incident and it hasn't come up. We purposely sing 'Ebony and Ivory' every night since October 9 and nobody has written about it," he added.
from Access Hollywood

Alexis Arquette Not Very Friendly To Harris & Knight

Transgender star Alexis Arquette has slammed newly-outed gay actors TR Knight and Neil Patrick Harris for refusing to talk about their personal lives while attending a gay-fundraising event. The stars were at a fundraiser for a suicide prevention hotline in Hollywood, but refused to be photographed or interviewed by media covering the event. Harris arrived in the same car with boyfriend David Burtka, but the two separated upon exiting the vehicle, with Burtka sneaking inside the event to avoid being photographed. The Doogie Howser star explained to USA Today that his "highly paid public relations firm" had advised him to "lay low for awhile." On stage, Knight and Harris both made brief remarks and didn't address their personal lives, which made Arquette angry. He blasted them saying, "People like that are weak. It's pathetic." Arquette's sister Patricia, was more sympathetic to the star's plight adding, "It's never easy to come out. It's a very brave thing. "I was terrified for Alexis, with all the cruelty in the world, that he would be taunted, teased or beaten."
from Contact Music

Perez Hilton's Open-Closet Policy

The white-hot center of the celebrity gossip world is currently a back table at a heavily trafficked Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Sunset Boulevard, just west of Fairfax. There, Perez Hilton, a slightly pudgy, recently blonded 28-year-old Cuban American blogger, has leveraged his reign as "queen of all media" to become a one-man celebrity outing operation, doing his best to uncloset as many gay celebrities as he can, because, as he sees it, they have forfeited their right to privacy on that point.
"In American culture, a lot of people still think that being gay is bad, and that being gay will hurt your career. I generally don't think that," said Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira. He began using his made-up Web moniker full time after getting death threats from Clay Aiken fans who didn't appreciate Hilton's calling the singer Clay Gay-kin. (Aiken has denied being gay.)
Styling himself a "gossip gangsta," Hilton picks heroes and villains (Angelina Jolie = good, Jennifer Aniston = bad), elevates obscure figures to fame (the bodaciously endowed British model Jordan) and never tires of ragging on Lindsay Lohan, of whom he delights in posting vulgar photographs.
But it is the absolutely brutal way he demands that gay actors avow their sexuality, coupled with the huge readership of his site, that is something of a departure, even in the rough-and-tumble world of celebrity blogs.
"I am not some safe, cookie cutter, queer-eye-for-the-straight-guy homo," said Hilton, who pings between comedy and gross vulgarity on his site. "I am dangerous. I am gonna push the envelope. I am gonna be who I am: a loud, gay Latino that has opinions and in my own way, subserviently, I am trying to make the world a better place."
It is true that Hilton does not take credit for the recent spate of revelations by the actors Neil Patrick Harris and T.R. Knight and the former 'N Sync band member Lance Bass. But, at least with Bass and Harris, Hilton kept up a drumbeat about their sexual orientation. Some think the relentless attention may have played a part in their decisions. He agreed, up to a point.
"I am never gonna take ownership of someone's coming out — that's their moment, and their decision," Hilton said Tuesday evening, twisting his baseball cap around as he sat at his "desk" in the Coffee Bean with his indispensable laptop and pink Sidekick. "I will say that I may be leading the conversation, and I might grease the wheel and make it easier for them."
Even serious-minded thinkers on the subject do not disagree. "Nowadays, it's the blogs that get it going," said USC professor Larry Gross, author of "Contested Closets: The Politics and Ethics of Outing." "In the previous round of outing in the early '90's, everybody wanted to be first to be second. No one wanted to take the heat for starting it, but the blog phenomenon has changed that by lowering the threshold to the point that other media can't avoid it. What we are now seeing is Outing 2.0"
This year, Hilton practically trilled, "there have been six — well, 5 1/2 if you count Ted Haggard — notable people that have come out as gay or lesbian, by choice or not." In addition to Knight, Harris and Bass, he cites ex-Florida Rep. Mark Foley and a TV actress who has not publicly acknowledged she is gay.
In 2004, Hilton added, there was only one notable gay person who stepped out of the closet: James McGreevey, who resigned as governor of New Jersey when he came out. "It's gone from one to 5 1/2 ," said Hilton. "Wow, wow, wow. That's progress, whether we like it or not."
With more than 2.5 million hits a day on the site, Hilton wields tremendous power. "I don't want to sound full of myself, but if I had not been talking about Lance Bass as much as I was before he came out, there is no way he would have gotten the cover of People magazine. He would have gone about it the traditional way, coming out on the cover of the Advocate, which is read by 70,000 people instead of the 3.4 million who read People every week. So I offered him this silver platter, you could say."
Still, in the arena of true breakthroughs, said Gross, the gay world is still waiting for its Jackie Robinson equivalent, an A-lister who would make it OK for others to come out. In that regard, he said, Hilton's efforts are "salutary, because we are still living in a double-standard world ... where there is something shameful about sexuality. The fact that someone is gay only will become neutral information when it's treated that way, not as a bombshell revelation or a dirty story."
Hilton already operates as though that is the case. He wishes that gay celebrities who don't want to talk about their private lives could just say, "Yes, I am gay and I don't want to talk about my private life."
He does not own a TV or read books and has no Internet at home. He is a voracious consumer of magazines, though, and has a network of trusted friends and tipsters who, he said, have yet to lead him astray.
He starts work around 6:30 a.m., sometimes posting 30 times a day, a far more prodigious output than many fully staffed sites. By sheer energy and personality, his site and he are rapidly evolving into a brand. He is in demand by radio and TV outlets as a celebrity commentator. He recently taught a Learning Annex class, "How to Blog Your Way to Fame and Fortune." ("I inspired myself!" he said.)
Collaborating with the production company World of Wonder, Hilton will star in his own reality show. He is the subject of a four-page layout in December's GQ, will co-host MTV's New Year's Eve special, will appear on the cover of the Advocate next month and was just named to a list of 25 powerful Latinos by the New York Post, which sued him in May 2005 for trademark dilution, among other things, prompting him to rechristen his original website, Pagesixsixsix (it's now called perezhilton .com). "I guess they didn't find the name funny," said Hilton.
Hilton is also smart enough to know that his current good fortune could be fleeting and is working 19 hours a day to make sure it stays. After all, it was only last year that this lower-middle-class, Jesuit-schooled kid from Miami was unemployed, $60,000 in debt, in bankruptcy and deeply depressed. Today, he said, he earns six figures. He has agents, a lawyer, a manager and a public that, despite its craving for the content he provides, can be vicious toward him in comments on his site. Which he loves. "Every time they leave a comment, it's a page view," he said. "I'm laughing all the way to the bank."
He moved to Los Angeles full time in 2002, after graduating from New York University, where he studied acting. While looking in vain for acting gigs, he was hired as a publicist, but didn't like the clients. "The last straw was this 40-year-old single mother who came out with a mermaid bikini calendar. It was her in a mermaid tail, and I was like, 'Oh, my God, this lady is like too old for this. But hey, I was resourceful…. I booked her at Long Beach aquarium!"
He was hired by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination, overseeing newsletters and annual reports. "I don't think I am their favorite person right now," he said.
A spokesman for GLAAD was diplomatic. "Media speculation about a celebrity's orientation is not something we support and it can be problematic," said Damon Romine. "Whether you are a celebrity or not, coming out is ultimately a personal process."
After Hilton left GLAAD, he freelanced for gay publications and found work at the Star briefly before being fired. Combining his three failed occupations — actor, publicist, journalist — he has struck gold.
"Next year will be one of two things," he said. "I am gonna fall or it'll be even bigger and better and crazier than this amazing year has been. I am hoping bigger and better, but I'm prepared for the other one too."
from The Los Angeles Times

Gay Actors To Face Straits?

In the 29 years since Billy Crystal outraged — and later won over — critics with his mostly sympathetic portrayal of a gay man on the sitcom "Soap," prime-time audiences have come to accept straight actors playing gay parts, in everything from groundbreaking hits (Eric McCormack in "Will & Grace") to all-but-forgotten flops (John Goodman in "Normal, Ohio").
But will viewers prove as welcoming toward gay actors in straight roles, especially — and this is the heart of the issue — as romantic leads? Several high-profile cases in the news lately suggest that we may be about to find out, as Americans continue to grapple with their conflicted and ever-evolving views on gays and lesbians.
Last month, T.R. Knight, who plays the romantically yearning and unquestionably heterosexual Dr. O'Malley on ABC's smash "Grey's Anatomy," came out as gay with a statement to People magazine, adding somewhat forlornly, "I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me." Knight's real-life sexual orientation evidently was a factor in a now-notorious on-set altercation; Isaiah Washington, who tussled with costar Patrick Dempsey, reportedly directed an anti-gay epithet at an unnamed actor believed to be Knight. (Washington later apologized.)
Then, two weeks ago, another coming-out message landed on the editor's desk at People, this one from Neil Patrick Harris, who plays the womanizing cad Barney on CBS' comedy "How I Met Your Mother." "I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest," Harris wrote, after his publicist at the time initially denied Internet rumors that the actor is gay.
Last week, the Advocate, a gay and lesbian magazine, published an interview with Kristanna Loken of "Terminator 3" and newly of Showtime's "The L Word." In it, she talked playfully of her relationship with another actress.
Television industry insiders agree that in just the past few weeks, gay actors in Hollywood have reached a critical new turning point, one that will reveal what restrictions may or may not be placed on their careers if they brave coming out of the closet. Ultimately, what happens next is up to prime-time viewers.
"This is new territory," said Damon Romine, entertainment media director at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an advocacy group. Harris and Knight in particular, he said, "are doing something that's not been done before: Come out when being on a TV series."
Ron Cowen, executive producer of Showtime's drama "Queer as Folk," said Harris, known to millions from his years on "Doogie Howser, M.D.," is furnishing "a test case" for other gay performers.
"If not a big deal is made out of it, Hollywood will adapt to it," Cowen added. "But if it turns out it's not a good thing — if the ratings for 'How I Met Your Mother' drop, for instance — people will say, 'That hurts shows, that hurts the business.' "
Fear of sexual disclosure is among the most persistent of the terrors that govern Hollywood's upper echelons. Trying to cover up a gay star's romantic life has been a frequent obsession of publicists and agents. In one of the most famous examples, Rock Hudson married his agent's secretary in 1955, when his movie career was rapidly ascending, largely to shield his homosexual affairs from tabloids and the public. The thinking was that mainstream viewers would never accept a gay actor as a romantic lead. As a result, while his sexuality was an open secret in Hollywood, Hudson never confirmed publicly that he was gay, even when he revealed he was dying from AIDS in 1985.
For all the advances that gays and lesbians have made on other fronts, some facts remain unchanged since Hudson's day.
Sarah Warn, founder and editor of Afterellen.com, a lesbian entertainment site, said she knows of one top Hollywood handler who tells her gay clients never to discuss their sexuality publicly.
"She tried to spin it as 'It's nobody's business,' " Warn said. And when rumors crop up, "most publicists deny those kinds of claims without even checking with the client."
Indeed, while top straight-identified actors have for years received praise and prizes for playing gay characters — Tom Hanks in "Philadelphia," for example — executives, casting directors and maybe mass audiences still seem to have a block when it comes to gay people in straight parts.
Rupert Everett, who's been out since 1989 and has played both gay and straight characters in major films, admitted in one interview that viewers may wonder "if a queen like me can butch it up enough to play a convincing straight man." But several factors are conspiring to change things, albeit more slowly than some activists hoping for A-list gay role models might like.
The legislative and court battles over gay marriage have increased general popular awareness, if not acceptance, of gays and lesbians, much as the initial AIDS crisis did 20 years ago. Then too entertainers such as Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres have come out and watched their careers soar, which may help embolden younger performers.
"You can use it to your advantage in a lot of ways," said Howard Bragman, an openly gay man and veteran Hollywood publicist who helped former sitcom stars Dick Sargent and Sheila Kuehl when they came out of the closet.
Meanwhile, Internet gossips such as Perez Hilton — whose notoriety depends largely on outing celebrities — have made it tougher for stars such as Harris to keep their private lives under wraps. (Through a spokesman, Harris declined to comment.)
"Celebrity rumors that used to be spread around by phone or tabloid are now online in minutes," Romine said.
All that leads some to believe that a renaissance in attitudes is underway. When it comes to stars' sexuality, Bragman said, "It's a generational thing. Kids do not care." He predicted that in another decade, gays playing straight characters won't even be an issue.
Others aren't so optimistic. Cowen pointed out that in Hollywood, no issue can be separated for long from the core concerns of ratings and box office.
"The question is, how liberal can Hollywood afford to be?" he asked.
from The Los Angeles Times

Did "Grey's" Brawl Force Knight Out Of The Closet?

"Grey's Anatomy" star T.R. Knight told PEOPLE exclusively that he is gay. But was this coming out of his own free will, or as a result of the much-hyped fight between "Grey's" stars Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey?
PEOPLE released a statement from Knight today that said, "While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me."
But the National Enquirer may have tipped us off to the story when they reported that during the fight between Washington and Dempsey, Washington yelled, "I'm not your little faggot like (name deleted)."
The Enquirer said they withheld the name of the co-star Washington mentioned "because of the extreme nature of the slur."
Does Knight's disclosure confirm the Enquirer's story?
Calls to Washington's reps were not immediately returned.
from TMZ