Washington Fired

The mess that is now "Grey's Anatomy" continues with the news that Isaiah Washington has been let go. The recovering homophobe learned this week that his contract was not picked up.

I'm confused about why Shonda Rhimes and ABC let Washington finish the season if they were upset enough about the antigay slur incident to fire him. Whatever. A contract requirement, perhaps? Or maybe they were just milking the controversy? They had to know it was interesting for viewers to tune in and watch Washington on the show while knowing others in the cast did not like working with him. Yep, I'm a cynic.

I'm also confused about why his character, Burke, was written out of the show so stupidly, if they thought they might be dumping him. Suddenly leaving Cristina at the altar, when she so clearly wanted to marry Burke, and when he knew all along that she was reticent about everything except medicine, was awkward and kind of insulting to viewers. Talk about an unnatural plot development.

It will be interesting to follow Washington's career, along with Michael Richards' and Mel Gibson's, from here on out. Washington's "Network" comment to the press upon learning he was fired certainly promises some fireworks: "I’m mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore," he said. Good luck with that, I.