Okay, the "Grey's Anatomy fight" thing

I don't know if you guys have been following this, but a few months ago there was a big fight on the set of Grey's Anatomy when one of the cast called another, a gay man, a faggot. After the flames from this had died down, the same actor opened his big, apparently homophobic idiot mouth again at the Golden Globes and repeated the slur. Even more intelligently, he did it while denying he'd ever said that about the other actor, who replied by going on the Ellen DeGeneres show and saying yes, yes he did.

USA Today has a good article about the state of things, with quotes from a couple of other actors and musicans. Including Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip's Sarah Paulson, who is beautiful, talented, and let's face it, my current lesbian crush. Must be the Keitha in me.

Anatomy's Patrick Dempsey, who was involved in the October confrontation, presented the TV comedy award to NBC's The Office but otherwise kept a low profile, confining himself to the backstage green room. But Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip's Sarah Paulson had no problem speaking out: "If someone said that about me and outed me that way, it would be really hard. I appreciate that (Grey's co-star) Katherine Heigl stood up for T.R. because it's our job to protect each other."

Some are calling for the actor, Isaiah Washington's, dismissal. I've been of two minds about it. On the one hand, I dislike bigmouthed homophobic idiots and I like seeing them get a cold hard smack of reality right back in the face.

But on the other, I dislike the idea that a man could be fired from a job that he supposedly does well because he expressed an opinion. Albeit one with which his castmates and producers (and me) disagree. (Granted, the ability to get along with your castmates and producers might be considered just as big a part of his job as good acting.)

My problem is, if I smugly say that this is okay, what do I say if Fox decides to fire Hugh Laurie from House because he won't make a pro-Bush speech in character? Niether of those things would ever happen, I don't think, I'm just looking for an analogy.

Fortunately, I found a solution to this moral dilemma, and in the most unlikely of places. I've rarely thought I'd ever find myself agreeing with John Mayer about anything (he liked the second season of Huff, for crying out loud), but he's got a great idea:

Other celebs have been chiming in, too: Neil Patrick Harris of CBS' How I Met Your Mother told People.com, "I was just sort of stunned that anyone would want to rehash any of that again." And singer John Mayer, on his blog, says Washington's character should have to come out as gay on Grey's. "What better way for an actor to get to the roots of his discrimination than by portraying the very subject of his own ire for the remainder of his contract?"

That's brilliant.