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Shonda Rhimes Breaks Her Silence About Isaiah!
I think that sneaky Shonda Rhimes tried to escape! Immediately following the press-tour panel for Private Practice, Rhimes — while stepping down from the dais — attempted to duck backstage before the gaggle stampede could swallow her up. There was just one problem: There was no backstage for her to head to. The black curtain she tried to penetrate was actually covering a wall. There was no way out. As a result, she was forced to answer direct questions about a topic that she has thus far been able to avoid: Isaiahgate. (For the record, an ABC rep denies that Rhimes was trying to flee the scene, insisting she was merely unsure where she was supposed to go.) In any event, I gotta give her credit. Once she realized that her back was quite literally to the wall, she handled the interrogation with candor and grace.
How difficult was it for you to let Isaiah go, on a personal level?
Shonda Rhimes: It wasn't. It was a decision that was a long time coming, and it felt like it was the right decision for all of us.
Given everything that transpired during the hiatus, did you feel the need to give the cast a pep talk on the first day back?
Rhimes: No. They're a group of real professionals who really rose to the occasion last season, and really delivered some amazingly powerhouse performances at a time when we were all sort of having an emotionally hard time. So, I feel like, no, we're a family. Nobody needed a pep talk.
So the decision to fire Isaiah was not something that was imposed on you?
Rhimes: The great thing about [ABC Studios head] Mark Pedowitz and [ABC president] Steve McPherson is they never imposed anything on me.
So you agreed with the decision?
Rhimes: Of course I did.
Would you have written the season finale differently if that stuff hadn't happened during the season?
Rhimes: I wrote the season-ender exactly as I planned to write the season-ender. What's kind of amazing is the season-ender finished the story of Preston Burke and really paid tribute to that character and to the talent of Isaiah Washington in a way that made sense. But it also went exactly where our show was planning to go anyway.
You were quoted as saying that it was disturbing to think that one black actor could be replaced with another. Do you have any second thoughts about saying that, particularly in light of the recent recast on Private Practice?
Rhimes: No, I think there's a point there. I think that with Preston Burke, the character that audiences have come to know and love for three seasons, it's very different. And at a time there was some talk of, 'Let's cast this actor or that actor... " sort of naming a bunch of black actors... as if the only thing that was important about the character of Preston Burke was his race. That was disturbing to me. It's a very different situation from the enhanced [two-hour episode of Grey's], which was our version of a pilot. Pilots get recast all the time. Ours just happened to air. It wasn't a matter of needing to find another black actor. It was a matter of, "Audra McDonald is the person we want."
Do you understand that there were people that interpreted this as you turning a homophobic incident into a racial incident?
Rhimes: I do now. Absolutely. But I do think that [specific] discussion was disturbing to me — as disturbing as the entire incident that happened for T.R. and Isaiah.
In retrospect, do you wish you had spoken out sooner about the whole thing?
Rhimes: Here's the thing: I know for you guys it's incredibly frustrating that I didn't say something. And I'm kind of sorry, because I know you guys have stories to tell. For me, the story we have to tell is the story of the show, and my instinct when something like this happened is to sort of close the doors and hunker down with people who are my family and protect them as much as possible. The outside world became far less important to me than those people I work with every day, and making sure that those people I work with are OK. I wasn't worried about the outside world. The outside world's not something that I can control. But the people I work with every day were. And I really was spending my time dealing with that, not dealing with whether or not I should make a statement.
When was the moment when you realized, 'You know, we're going to have to make a change here?'
Rhimes: Again, I feel like this is stuff that happened in our family, and I don't want to give specifics on sort of how and what happened. But there was a moment when I was sure and felt good and comfortable about the decision and that it was the right decision to be made for everybody.
How are things between you and T.R. now?
Rhimes: We're good. I feel like everybody is working really well together. T.R. is doing some amazing work. We're moving forward. We're excited about the stories we're telling this season. It feels like they're fresh.... And we're going with the idea that we want to have a little bit more fun this season.
There seems to be a lot of infighting at Grey's. Do you think you can do anything differently in terms of managing that set?
Rhimes: Well, I don't know. I've never run a television show before, so I only know one way to run a television show, which is: You have an enormously talented group of people; you become enormously popular way faster than you ever thought was going to happen; and then you swim.
Switching gears, were you surprised by the strong reaction to George-Izzie?
Rhimes: I had a strong reaction to George and Izzie.
A strong negative reaction?
Rhimes: I wasn't sure I was ready for it. I don't think anybody's ready for it. I don't know if George and Izzie are ready for it. He's married, and she said some really harsh things. I feel like if you follow our characters you know that they're flawed, they're human, they make mistakes. Sometimes mistakes are the absolute right decision and sometimes mistakes are the absolute wrong one. It's a really interesting relationship to explore.
Now that Shonda has spilled her two cents, it's your turn. Are you satisfied with her answers? Sound off below!
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Jul 26, 2007 8:10 PM
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Well, you've only posted a few questions so far, but I like what I'm reading! Go Shonda! Go Michael! Go Shonda! Go Michael!
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Jul 26, 2007 8:16 PM
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Now Shonda knows what it's like to be pecked to death by geese, but I'm so glad you were there to get the scoop. Great job!
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Jul 26, 2007 8:41 PM
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Jeez, enough about George/Izzie (who rock, BTW). Would one of those critics ask about Meredith and Derek instead? The GOLDEN couple?
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Jul 26, 2007 8:50 PM
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Thanks!
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Jul 26, 2007 9:03 PM
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So, she's saying Preston Burke was coincidentally the one regular character she was planning to write out at the end of the season, even if all the backstage garbage hadn't happened? If I'm reading that correctly, I find that very hard to believe. ">
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Jul 26, 2007 9:05 PM
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I think she's saying she planned to end the season that way. If IW had kept his trap shut, he (and Burke) would have been back.">
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Jul 26, 2007 9:11 PM
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She's using many words to say absolutely nothing.
Gizzie may or may not be a mistake.
Burke's story was supposed to end this way anyway and everything was just a big coincidence.
Gimme a break.
Waste of virtual ink.
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Jul 26, 2007 9:17 PM
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I don't know, I'm surprised that in what seems to be a very honest interview no one asked the question of "Did T.R. Knight push to be portrayed as more of a leading man as Isaiah Washington claims?"
I think most people will chalk it up as a lie based on his track record but it is the one outstanding claim he has against a Greys cast member.
Otherwise, I think she seemed to give as much of response to the whole dust up as anyone could ask of her.
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Jul 26, 2007 9:32 PM
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I think George and Izzie as a couple was a very smart idea! They are in my opinion the perfect fit for each other on the show! They have always loved each other and although I believe they will continue to love each other whether or not Shonda decides to bring them together as a couple I still believe they would be great as a romantic couple! After starting this story of George and Izzie as a romantic couple I will be very disappointed if Shonda does not follow through with the story!
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Jul 26, 2007 9:39 PM
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No, I am not satisfied with her answers.
I think the firing of Isiah Washington has changed my view of "Grey's, and it was my favorite show of all times. I read her answers and I've listened intently to Mr. Washington's interview and his explanation of the whole thing. And I think I believe him. It should have been T. R. Knight that was fired because HE made it all about him, when he wasn't even there at the argument between Patrick and Isiah, it had nothing to do with him. And I will forever look at him differently on the show. And it hurts me to say this, but I will look at Patrick Dempsey differently also, because he was worried about how he would look.
Linda in Georgia
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Jul 26, 2007 9:44 PM
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I find it interesting that she didn't deny that there are a lot of problems and fights on the Grey's set. It seems as if there are problems going on than just what happened with T.R. & Isaiah. On another note I wish someone at the TCA or Comicon had asked about the person causing rows on Lost. A lot of fans on the various forums are starting to think Kristin made it up or exaggerated a story to generate publicity for the show.
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Jul 26, 2007 9:46 PM
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I'm reading too many conflicting stories. IW says Shonda was crying when she told him he wasn't coming back. That doesn't sound like someone who had this planned from the beginning. I would be less likely to believe IW and dismiss him as narcissistic, but then she tried to make a break for it without answering questions about him. If she's comfortable in her decision, why run from questions? All signs of a kid with her hand in the cookie jar.
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Jul 26, 2007 9:52 PM
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When will this story die. I swear this story has been going longer than most pregnancies. I am much more interested in how they are going to clean up private practice and what will happen with Alex and Callie this year.
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Jul 26, 2007 10:18 PM
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It's a funny coincidence that today, Oprah reran its visit to the GA set last fall (about four weeks after the infamous incident). It's obvious when the four actors on the set with Oprah (Knight, Washington, Dempsey and Pickens) were "addressing" the incident, they were all lying through their teeth. Every one of them. Everyone was talking in the passive voice ("Apologies were made", said Washington, gesturing with his hand towards Dempsey...was he suggesting Dempsey apologized or he himself?) All the while, Knight just seemed to have a blank stare on his face and he nodded in agreement when someone said that they had all moved on. Even Oprah seemed uncomfortable with their answers and just wanted to move on. It was a little surreal to watch it, considering how much has happened this past season!
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Jul 26, 2007 10:31 PM
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