Before Grey’s Anatomy star T. R. Knight came out to People magazine last year, some advised him not to do it, he says in a new interview.

While friends were “beautifully supportive,” Knight, 34, tells The Advocate in its June 19 issue, others cautiously advised him, “Don’t do it – don’t do it now.”

Looking back, he says, “I remember saying to someone when I got one of those ‘don’t do it’ [comments] – I just remember hearing my voice being calm and saying, ‘No, it’s going happen. It’s going to happen. I’m just letting you know.’ ”

Ultimately, he’s glad he decided to come out after castmate Isaiah Washington referred to him on-set by a homophobic slur. “I made the decision to make a statement,” he says. “I could have not [spoken up]. I could have retreated. But I’m definitely happy I made the decision.” (Washington has since apologized.)

Knight told PEOPLE in a statement in October: “I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I’d like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there. 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.”

Since coming out, Knight, who plays the unassuming Dr. George O’Malley on the hit ABC drama, has seen his character marry Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and bed fellow M.D.’s Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl).

Off camera, Heigl is a close friend, but she says he came out to her gradually. “There came a point where we were close enough friends that he would just talk about dates or about other guys,” she tells The Advocate.

“I wasn’t shocked or surprised. … It was more just like, ‘Oh, okay, now I know why you don’t want to go out with me.’ ”

But Knight, who is single (“Not that I’ve had the most successful dating experiences,” he says) insists coming out hasn’t much affected his love life. He says with a laugh that he still assumes people aren’t interested in him, but notes: “Too much aggression isn’t a good thing either.”

Source: People.com

Grey’s Anatomy star T.R. Knight says he’s looking forward to some time off from the hit show.

Knight, who was at the center of an uproar last year when costar Isaiah Washington allegedly referred to him by a homophobic slur, was asked by Access Hollywood how things were on the set.

“We have about 20 days left [until the season ends], not that I’m counting,” he said. “It’s going to be nice to have two months away, you know. I think everyone’s looking forward to it.”

Knight, 34, made his comments at the GLAAD Media Awards in Hollywood on Saturday, where Grey’s won an award for outstanding individual episode for “Where the Boys Are.”

Asked if the summer break would give Knight time to reflect upon the tumultuous season, he said: “Yeah, to learn from it. Grow. That’s the hope; that’s my hope.”

The trouble started in October when Washington reportedly used the slur during an on-set argument with costar Patrick Dempsey. Shortly after the incident, Knight confirmed to PEOPLE that he is gay.

He later told Ellen DeGeneres that hearing Washington use the word gave him the courage to come out. In January, Washington apologized and checked into rehab.

Knight, who opened the awards show on Saturday, told Access Hollywood he’s not sure the wounds from the dustup have truly begun to heal. “I don’t know,” he said. “We’re showing up and doing our work. … There’s a lot of work to be done, so that’s my focus.”

Asked if his relationship with Washington is on the mend, Knight said, “I just focus on doing the work. That’s my job; that’s what I’m paid for, and I think that’s enough.”

Source: People Magazine

T.R. Knight of Grey’s Anatomy recently celebrated his birthday – Happy Birthday T.R.! – and co-star Katherine Heigl (Izzie) surprised her on screen closet beau with a puppy dog. T.R. was thrilled with the new addition, named Ebony. To up the cool factor, Ebony was rescued from an animal shelter in Nebraska which Heigl and her family help to support.

The puppy is described as mixed breed and gangly, and is about six months old. No word on whether or not it is potty trained or not. Signs of an onset romance between Heigl and Knight? Hardly. Remember T.R. Knight was rudely outed by an infamous incident involving costars Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey last October. I’m thinking one of them needs a puppy too.

Source: Buddy TV

Patrick Dempsey says that Isaiah Washington has changed, or at least he seems to have. The Grey’s Anatomy star has been observing Washington from a safe distance though since the infamously homophobic star grabbed Dempsey by the throat for defending Grey’s Anatomy costar T.R. Knight against a gay slur. The situation, now just a few months short of being a year old, called for stern action from Grey’s Anatomy producers, particularly after Washington made the mistake of repeating the slur at the Golden Globes, albeit in a regretting context.

Dempsey was approached by IMDB reporters recently to check in on how things are going since Washington spent his week in anger rehab. Dempsey’s response was tentatively reassuring at best.

“I haven’t spent enough time around him to honestly know what’s going on with him… (but) you do have a feeling, when you look at him, that something is different, and that he is working on things. You can’t get away from the fact he’s doing a great job on the show; he does beautiful work. He’s very passionate about it. He allows himself to feel deeply and sometimes that’s very difficult to contain and control appropriately.” Dempsey told IMDB.

Source: Buddy TV

Best friends and “Grey’s Anatomy” co-stars Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight spent some time out of scrubs together yesterday.

A TMZ spy tells us the prime time pals were overheard in a very in-depth conversation about the upcoming elections before catching a flick at an L.A. cinema. After the movie, the buddies headed to Off Vine restaurant in Hollywood, where they met up for dinner with Katherine’s fiance, Josh Kelley.

Looks like T.R.’s media drama has brought him closer to his fellow actors… well, at least some of them.

Source: TMZ

The actor was the subject of a widely-publicized homophobic slur by a cast mate and he “is so upset about the situation and so disgusted by how it was all handled,” that he’s planning to leave the show, says a source.

“He was told not to say anything about the whole incident,” says the insider, referring to an on-set dust up in October when fellow cast member Isaiah Washington referred to Knight, who plays Dr. George O’Malley, with a derogatory word used to describe gay men.

“He kept his word, but then the whole thing blew up again at the Golden Globes, and when he was asked about it, he basically called Isaiah a liar,” says the source. “He feels that the atmosphere there is so toxic and unhealthy. I suppose things could change and we would stay, but for now, he’s planning to leave the show.”

When asked if Knight planned to leave the show, his spokeswoman told The Scoop: “We’re not commenting on that.” She later called back and said that the story was “Completely, one thousand percent false.” A rep for the network also called to add that “rumors of T. R. Knight’s departure from the show are irrefutably untrue.”

Source

Justin Chambers of Grey’s Anatomy said Monday that the players in the show’s off-screen controversy over Isaiah Washington’s use of a gay slur are continuing to work out their problems – and that it’s a shame the spat has distracted from the program’s accomplishments.

Asked by Barbara Walters on The View how things were going over at the ABC show, Chambers replied, “That’s the question right now. It’s an unfortunate situation. They’re trying to work it out.”

Chambers, 36, who plays Dr. Alex Karev, said the pall that’s been cast over the show is particularly unfortunate considering the creative accolades it’s earned. “We won the Golden Globe, and it’s kind of overshadowed that fact – and the fact that it’s such a large cast, that we work a lot of hours and we get along really well,” he said.

Kate Walsh, who also stars on Grey’s, tells Extra she is hopeful the show’s cast and crew can eventually get past the situation. “I feel really sad…I’m just saying my prayers,” she said at the Sundance Film Festival. “I don�t know what is going to happen…I just trust that our show will deal with it in the way that they see fit.”

The off-screen saga began in October, when costars Washington and Patrick Dempsey got into a fight on the set, and Washington allegedly used a gay slur to refer to another costar, T.R. Knight. Washington then fanned the flames at the Golden Globes by repeating the word, though he later apologized.

On a lighter topic, Chambers, who has five children with wife Keisha, told The View’s co-hosts that he’d given some advice to Dempsey, whose wife Jillian is expecting twins sons this winter.

His words of wisdom? “Strap yourself in, get ready.”

Source: People Magazine

Under fire by his bosses at ABC and gay leaders, Grey’s Anatomy star Isaiah Washington apologized Thursday for what he called his “unacceptable in any context” comments about gay costar T.R. Knight on Golden Globes night.

“I can neither defend nor explain my behavior,” Washington said in a statement. “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.”

Apologizing to “T.R., my colleagues, the fans of the show and especially the lesbian and gay community,” Washington said he “marred what should have been a perfect night” for Grey’s Anatomy and hurt both Knight and “everyone who has struggled for the respect so many of us take for granted.

“T.R.’s courage throughout this entire episode speaks to his tremendous character,” Washington said. “I hold his talent, and T.R. as a person, in high esteem. I know a mere apology will not end this, and I intend to let my future actions prove my sincerity.”

Washington, who plays Dr. Preston Burke on the hit ABC show, denied in the pressroom at the Golden Globes on Monday that he ever used a gay slur in reference to Knight. “No, I did not call T.R. a faggot,” said Washington. “Never happened, never happened.”

But during an appearance Wednesday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Knight said that Washington did use the word during an on-set argument with costar Patrick Dempsey in October.

“He referred to me as a faggot,” he told DeGeneres. “Everyone heard it.”

Source: People Magazine