The furor over the Isaiah Washington-T.R. Knight gay slur issue has dragged on for months but the truth behind what really transpired is a matter of he said, he said until now. According to Knight, who appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in January, "everyone [on the set] heard [the gay slur]." Knight was referring to an on-set disagreement between Washington and Grey's lead star, Patrick Dempsey, during which Washington reportedly used an anti-gay term in reference to Knight.

Washington has repeatedly disputed Knight's account of the events. He insists that Knight's version is not how things happened. ?That's a lie. I used the word during a disagreement with Patrick. I apologized for that. We shook hands and went back to work," Washington said. "I knew T.R. was gay, but I would never attack him because of his sexual orientation. That's stupid. I've been working with lesbians and gays for 21 years in this business."

Washington further claimed that Knight had used the gay slur incident to his own purposes and milked the issue to gain some sympathy for his own ends. Washington added that Knight had been hoping for a more substantial role for his character, Dr. George O'Malley, and a corresponding pay hike to go with it. "I feel all of this was about him getting a raise and getting his character to stop being perceived as a dopey, kooky kind of character," Washington candidly revealed. "He perceives himself as a leading man. That's why you could see the change this past season. That was his whole impetus behind this. And I was used and I was exploited...to raise T.R.'s profile. I may be wrong, but that's how I feel about it."

Washington said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle that "they fired the wrong guy." He said that T.R. Knight should have been canned for having created a negative working environment and stirring up the notion that the slur was targeted at him. In what he perceived as a calculated move by his co-star, Washington said he was contemplating taking legal action to clear his name and reputation. "My livelihood, my honor and dignity and my name have been so challenged," Washington concluded.