The big question before Sunday night’s Screen Actors Guild Awards was whether Isaiah Washington would be sitting with his Grey’s Anatomy castmates.
Turns out, he wasn’t even at the ceremony. “There’s a little awkwardness there,” costar Katherine Heigl told us on the red carpet, adding that she hadn’t spoken with Washington since he entered a treatment facility.
But best supporting actress winner Chandra Wilson gave a shout-out to her costar while accepting her award, saying from the stage, “It’s about those 10 cast members sitting over there and the other one in rehab. Y’all just hold me together.”
Washington has been seeking treatment after using a gay slur on the Grey’s set and at the Golden Globe Awards, in reference to costar T.R. Knight, sparking an online petition for his network, ABC, to fire him and condemnation from GLAAD. He’s since apologized.
Heigl, who has been the most critical of Washington, told E!’s Ryan Seacrest she was “very hopeful that things will work out and be okay, and that Isaiah is taking the necessary steps to redeem himself.”
When asked if the cast knew when Washington would return to the set, she told Seacrest, “There’s a lot of confusion,” adding that “we don’t know when he’ll be back or for how long.”
The cast seems to be trying to move on. Ellen Pompeo included Washington in her acceptance speech for the cast’s best ensemble in a TV drama trophy. And the costars stayed close at the official after-party, cohosted by PEOPLE and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, where they toasted their win with champagne.
Knight described the evening as “wonderful.” He would not comment on Washington – he simply told us, “I’m here,” when asked about his costar’s absence – but he did praise another castmate.
“I’m very happy that Chandra [Wilson] was honored in the way she was,” he said. “She’s one of the most excellent people I know. She’s a phenomenal actor. They all are – but obviously she’s family.”
Source: People Magazine
