Rumor has it that Isaiah Washington, aka Dr. Preston Burke, is on the verge of being fired from "Grey's Anatomy" after he sparked a public backlash last week when he spoke at a press conference at the Golden Globe Awards and denied calling co-star TR Knight "a f****t" during an on-set scuffle last year.
E! Online reporter Kristin Veitch reported on her blog, "(I) just received word from a highly placed source within the Touchstone/ABC family that ABC and Disney executives are currently considering the option of firing Isaiah Washington from Grey's Anatomy, effective immediately, without having him appear in any kind of farewell episode.
"According to this reliable source, if the network does follow through with this option, the producers are likely to run a full-screen announcement at the beginning of the first Burke-less episode that announces Isaiah Washington is no longer part of the show.
"I'm also told by various sources that the loss of Preston Burke is not an easy task for Grey's writing staff to deal with, given that he has a major storyline (including a life-changing event) coming in the next few episodes that air during February sweeps. Those episodes have already been shot."
ABC issued a statement last week calling Washington's behavior "unacceptable" and he has since issued an apology and met with gay leaders.
