ISAIAH WASHINGTON - WASHINGTON FOCUSED ON CHARITY DURING GREY'S CONTROVERSY

WASHINGTON FOCUSED ON CHARITY DURING GREY'S CONTROVERSY

Actor ISAIAH WASHINGTON escaped the controversy surrounding his GREY'S ANATOMY scandal and subsequent firing by focusing on his charity work in Sierra Leone. Washington was fired from the U.S. TV show earlier this summer (07) after using a homophobic slur during an onset row with co-star Patrick Dempsey last October (06) which prompted another co-star, T.R. Knight to 'come out' as a homosexual. But Washington credits his Gondobay Manga Foundation, which aims to improve the lives of people in rural Sierra Leone, with keeping him grounded during the much-publicised scandal. He says, "This is the thing that kept me sane. While all the negative was happening (on Grey's Anatomy), I had all this support over there. "When I get to the point when I'm very frustrated, I go to my website to check emails from people all over the world who want to help out."