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

Patrick Dempsey’s Grey’s Anatomy character, Derek “Dr. McDreamy” Shepherd, makes the all the ladies swoon – but for Dempsey, he’s only concerned about one: Jillian, his wife of eight years.

“I hope I still make her swoon!” the actor, 41, tells Redbook in its June issue. “Sometimes I think, God, would Derek Shepard do this? because I am certainly not a perfect male at this moment. Just trying to provide and communicate and let her know how beautiful and important she is to me – I think those things make her swoon.”

And what about her makes him swoon? “I think thoughtfulness always gets someone,” says Dempsey, who stars in the new romantic comedy Made of Honor.

“Like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s pretty special that you remembered that.’ She’s unbelievably patient and supportive and smart. I listen to her. I listen to her instincts. She makes me a much better person just by association. To have her love me gives me strength and hope and has allowed me to grow into this whole thing.”

He and Jillian, a former cosmetics entrepreneur who now works as the global colorist for Avon, have three kids: daughter Talula, 5, and twin sons Darby and Sullivan, whom they welcomed in February.

The boys, he tells Redbook, are different – quieter than Talula was as an infant. But he says there was one thing he learned with his daughter that’s been helpful with his new sons: “I’ve learned that bonding comes in waves; it’s incremental.

“I think most men are freaked out by that because they’re expecting it to be immediate. With a mother, it’s almost immediate. But it’s okay to take the time bond with your child. It’s going to take 12 months before you start to get into this relationship.”

Source: People Magazine

Despite being embedded in a typically well performing episode of Grey’s Anatomy, the proposed pilot of the Addison led spin off “Private Practice” was almost universally panned by critics and fans alike. A quick tour through the Grey’s Anatomy fan sites this morning was like stepping onto a battlefield, with the anti-Private Practice troops possessing superior firepower. On a personal note, I liked the segments but felt they clashed with a-typical motifs of Grey’s Anatomy.
One would assume from the beginning that there would be an attempt to give Private Practice its own look and feel, which was accomplished, but perhaps what wasn’t so well formulated was how to manage the incompatibility between the two segments.

So, what does this mean for the proposed pilot? By airing it not only within the Grey’s Anatomy timeslot, but within Grey’s Anatomy itself, ratings are of no help in the decision process. One can only imagine that ABC is looking over the fan reaction the day after with some serious reservations about moving forward.

Personally, I hope they will take a chance on the show. It is clearly not a show designed to share a blood supply with Grey’s Anatomy, so count out any serious cross over appeal. People addicted to the gritty, damp abscesses of existential despair and the thin membranes of humor that hold it together, probably aren’t going to go for the shenanigans of “Private Practice.” But that’s okay because, y’know, I hate ER but life goes on.

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Isaiah Washington came under fire after using an anti-gay slur. He will appear in a public service announcement on behalf of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, appearing in at least two variants, according to his publicist.

Washington ran into trouble at the Golden Globe Awards in January after he used an anti-gay slur during a backstage press conference while denying he’d used it previously against “Grey’s Anatomy” castmate T.R. Knight.

People magazine reported last October that Washington had allegedly used the slur during an on-set dustup with co-star Patrick Dempsey.

Knight said soon after the incident that he was gay.

After being criticized by GLAAD, a gay and lesbian advocacy group, and the ABC network, Washington issued an apology and sought counseling.

ABC, which is owned by The Walt Disney Co., was planning to shoot the ad in the next few weeks, publicist Howard Bragman said.

A call to ABC seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned.

Bragman said Washington, 43, plans to return to “Grey’s Anatomy” next year.

Patrick Dempsey, a co-owner of the Vision Racing team, will drive the Chevrolet Corvette pace car for the Indianapolis 500 on May 27.

Dempsey, one of the stars of the ABC-TV hit drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” will lead the field of 33 drivers to the green flag at the start of the race.

“During recent years he has developed a strong bond with racing and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so he truly understands and appreciates the pageantry, prestige and tradition of the month of May and the Indianapolis 500,” Speedway president Joie Chitwood said in a statement today.

Dempsey has driven in sports car races and off-road events and is a partner in Vision Racing with IRL and Speedway CEO Tony George.

Source: Pal-item.

On Thursday, May 3, 2007 at 9/8c, ABC will be showing a special two-hour edition of Grey’s Anatomy, within it a decision that could change the show forever.

The upcoming episode will put the gears of the much-anticipated Kate Walsh (Addison) spin-off into motion. The show, tentatively called Private Practice, will take place in trendy Miami, Florida and take Grey’s Anatomy character Addison Montgomery from high-stress medical traumas and scandalous rendezvous to a less medical show that deals more with life with a smidgen of medical happenings thrown in.

While the two-hour Grey’s Anatomy will setup the show, it will not act as a pilot episode, and the reactions to this episode will also not determine whether the fate of the show in itself. As of now, the show has no time slot or series premiere date available (though it is definitely slotted for the 2007 Fall Line Up) and the ABC executives are keen to caution that the show’s title could be subject to change at any moment.

In addition to Kate Walsh, the cast of Private Practice will include Taye Diggs (Day Break), Tim Daly (The Nine), Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy), Chris Lowell (Veronica Mars) and several others. Let us hope that the failings of her co-stars ABC shows will not spell doom for Kate, but with that delightful Shonda Rhimes touch, all should hopefully be kosher.

However if this spin-off does indeed fail, will Seattle Grace re-welcome Addison Montgomery into its chaotic, melodramatic bosom? As some of you may remember, Addison wasn’t originally part of the cast and Kate Walsh was initially only signed on for two-three episodes. Only time will tell of Addison’s fate, though rumor has it that there is a clause in her contract stating that if the show fails, she goes back to Grey’s.

Fans are all too eager to voice their opinions of a spin-off. Some are completely and utterly against it, saying that it’s too risky and could damage Grey’s ratings to the point of no return. While others are in full support of Shonda and Kate’s project, even going as far as to set up online petitions to show their devotion to the venture.

Source

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Patrick Dempsey and Ellen Pompeo are pictured above on the set of Grey’s Anatomy in Los Angeles, looking all dressed up. Could it be for the Cristina Yang/Dr. Burke wedding? or is there another surprise in store for us? Guess we’ll have to wait and see. According to People magazine, this Thursday’s episode is a 2 hour one — looking forward to that!

People Magazine named Katherine Heigl one of the most beautiful women of 2007.

“Hair to me is not a priority. All I ever do is throw it in a bun,” admits the Grey’s Anatomy star, 28. “The only thing I know how to do is hot rollers, which is sort of over. I can’t style bangs even though I love them and I’m always like, ‘Let’s cut some bangs!’ And then I’m stuck with hair I can’t figure out.”