ISAIAH WASHINGTON - WASHINGTON LAUDED BY GAY ACTIVIST

WASHINGTON LAUDED BY GAY ACTIVIST

Sacked GREY'S ANATOMY star ISAIAH WASHINGTON has found an unlikely supporter - a gay activist has launched a petition to have him return to the hit show. The actor was being fired from the medical drama earlier this month (Jun07), following public outrage after calling castmate T.R. Knight "a faggot" last October (06) - a comment he then repeated at the Golden Globe Awards earlier this year (07). But gay activist Jasmyne Cannick, who worked with Washington at the Pan African Arts Festival, has spearheaded the campaign to clear the star's name and have him reinstated on the show - and now has 1,233 signatures of support. The petition believes Washington's sacking "further adds to a disturbing new trend at ABC wherein minority actors have been dismissed at an alarming rate over the past two years. "While we don't approve of (Washington's) use of the F-word at the Golden Globes, Washington has since apologised and gone on to perform community service by way of a public service announcement for the very organisations that have been orchestrating his dismissal. But it seems it wasn't enough." She tells the New York Post, "Isaiah has done more for the gay and lesbian community than T.R. Knight did in or out of the closet. "He did what they asked him to do, and now they want to make sure he will never work again. At what point is enough?" A spokesperson for the Washington says, "We appreciate Cannick's support."