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Did the Gay Mafia have it in for Isaiah Washington?
No, not that Gay Mafia... Isaiah Washington's firing from Grey's Anatomy continues to make news. The Associated Press has a lengthy article on Washington's firing from Grey's Anatomy that takes a look at the story from a variety of angles. This part stood out: One black gay activist sees the lobbying far differently. Jasmyne Cannick, a friend of Washington's, said the case reflected a division between Hollywood's powerful white gays and lesbians and those who are minorities. "The ones calling for (Washington's) head are what I refer to as the gay Mafia," Cannick said. Now, here's one thing I can understand -- Dr. Preston Burke was one of a too-small-number of compelling African-American characters on television and Washington is a talented actor who made that character come to life. I can see reason for frustration with Washington being fired from Grey's. When good roles are rare, losing a even one is a major loss. However, Washington did attack a co-worker and he did repeatedly show insensitivity to the repurcussions that his use of an anti-gay slur caused. Maybe you can make a case that a white actor would have been unfairly given a pass, but one wrong doesn't justify more wrongs. And it doesn't help, either, that so far, Washington's response has been either angry or lacking remorse (as in: "I can only apologize so many times. I can only accept so much responsibility."), which makes his apologies sound like he wasn't sorry about what happened, and just saying what he hoped would make his trouble go away. Looking at all this, I have a hard time seeing ABC's decision or the media's response as being primarily driven by a collective desire to bring down a successful Black man. Submitted by on Thu, 2007-06-14 16:17. |
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such rubbish
The whole "Gay Mafia" bs is such nonsense. There's a few people over on IMDB who use Isaiah's skin color as a get out of jail pass and throw out "racist" to ANY person who thought Isaiah was in the wrong. Yet the idiots always avoid any "what about when gay people attack Ann Coulter/Don Imus/Jerry Falwell/etc...." because it would shut them up and make them realize they're in the wrong.
I don't see how any gay or lesbian can defend Isaiah, who cares if he's black or not, he deserved to be fired for his comments.
The funniest part is all the "gay white men are so racist" BS. Umm, who went to see Dreamgirls? Who buys Beyonce, Mariah, Janet, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, etc..'s albums? GAY MEN, and that includes white gay men. Or are we all a bunch of racists because hip hop isn't the biggest thing in our community?
Just as Jasmyne Cannick's
Okay
I didn't realize hip hop was a black thing. Somebody should tell the white teenaged boys who account for the majority of rap cd sales.
And since when does seeing Dreamgirls or listening to music by black artists exclude people from possibly being racist. That's as tired as the saying, "I can't be a racist, I have a black friend!".
And newsflash, there IS plenty of racism in the gay community. Anybody who thinks there isn't is either in denial or white. I'm not saying every gay white man/woman is racist and neither did Cannick or anybody for that matter. But I do find that the biggest protestors of that label are a bit racist themsleves and that's why they get defensive as if they are entitled to it because of whatever incident they experienced involving someone of another color.
so whose side are you
so whose side are you on? People, at least the IW defenders on IMDB.com are so blindingly defensive of Isaiah and act like he didn't do anything wrong, and then turn around and call T.R. a KKK member because he didn't just say it was okay that he was called a faggot. None of these Isaiah apologists are willing to even say that Isaiah should not have said the word, they act like he's a martyr.
I don't see how Cannick can just say that it's okay to be homophobic. I think she needs to find herself an ex-gay group to "cure" her since she obviously hates gay people considering she feels the need to trash T.R. but defend Isaiah because she feels more bonded to race than orientation. I know plenty of black people who are against Isaiah and on T.R.'s side over the whole mess, because they understand that as homosexuals, that homophobia is just as ugly as racism.
And once again, how is it any different the way gays treated Isaiah than how they treated Coulter or Imus or Falwell? If there was some sort of difference, I could understand the argument, but it's almost like Isaiah was given a get out of jail free card based on skin and gays are supposed to respect that, while it's okay to give Coulter, Imus, Falwell and other white homophobes the scorn they deserve.
I Couldn"t Care Less About IW
Also
Quote:When someone has
but race shouldn't be a factor on the issue, but people like Cannick decide to make it so. Why does the b-word convieniently ignore the gay community's dismay over white homophobes and singles Isaiah out as the only target gays have ever had? She could handle her beliefs with class but she instead has to bash T.R. to make her argument heard. Why does it have to be white vs. black? Okay, the "victim" was a gay white man and the guy who made the comments was black, but I don't buy the race card into it. If Justin Chambers or Patrick Dempsey had been the one to call T.R. a faggot, the gay community wouldn't have been any more embracive to them either, even if they were white and "sexy". Hell, just look at the way the gay community has boycotted Mel Gibson's movies for years, yes, he's gotten old along the way but when he was younger, he was considered one of the sexiest men alive, and yet being white on top of that didn't make the "Gay White Mafia" any more embracive to him when he made homophobic comments back in the early 90's.
Straight people (and yes, I believe Cannick is straight posing as a lesbian to get people to listen to her more, she has too much hatred for the gay community while defending homophobic people to be gay) are just pissed off that finally someone got into trouble for making a homophobic comment. Straight people feel there is a real threat to their freedom of speech if they have to cut the word "faggot" out of their vocabulary, instead of accepting it as a passe derogatory term that you just don't use in the 21st century much like the word that begins with N.
Race shouldn't be the
Race shouldn't be the factor, but it IS a factor. People don't like to say it, but let's be frank - a big reason why the gay community has been so upset over the whole Grey's Anatomy mess is that a member of one minority group (African-Americans) used an abominable slur against a member of another minority group (gays). It's the case of "you of all people should no better than to do something like that."
What Jasmyne Cannick & a lot of her gay opponents don't acknowledge is that there are jerks in ALL communities. As such, you can't take some people's opinions & actions and use them to generalize an entire community. Two wrongs don't make a right.
P.S. Look at how many gay men have watched 300, Apatow's movies, FX, etc., despite their anti-gay content. That makes me believe that there may indeed be a double standard.
but the thing you forget is
Turkish, Cannick was Isaiah's friend?
That tears it... till now, I was at least partially sensitive to Jasmyne's concerns, but enough is enough.
Jasmyne is quite the hypocrite, because let's not forget that "Gays first, then illegals" article that she wrote in the Advocate. You think that there isn't racism in the cause that she herself is legitimizing?
Cannick's whole argument is disingenuous, and she owes her readers full disclosure to say that the reason she feels so strongly, when she basically accuses the whole "white" gay community (assuming that everyone who's gay and wanted Isaiah fired as much as they wanted Don Imus or Peter Pace fired was "white") of practically attending KKK meetings, planning to burn crosses in Isaiah's front lawn, while not letting people know that the truth is she was Isaiah's friend, and probably shares his unbalanced temperament.
Turkish, please, if you know tell us exactly how long Jasmyne and Isaiah have been friends, etc., etc. Too bad Cannick didn't bother to volunteer this information herself anywhere during her numerous tirades against 'white gay racism'.
Thank gawd we have more credible gay African American voices left to turn to, such as Keith Boykin, Pam Spaulding, and Irene Monroe, now that Cannick has proven herself to be a totally hypocritical and deceptive fraud.
BTW, Jasmyne, if you're reading this (and if you're not, I'm sure one of your supporters will and get this back to you), I'm a person of color, so you can't accuse me of being part of the "white gay mafia", but perhaps you'll accuse me of being a self-loathing man of color or something. It's about what I've come to expect from you these days...
Very eloquently stated,
Very eloquently stated, turkish.
I would like to add that the majority of the racism in the gay community is subtle - how many people of color do you see in gay magazines, gay programming (those not created by gay people of color), & "mainstream" programming created by gay white men?
I think a lot of that has to do with how people define beauty. Unfortunately, it rarely includes minorities.
P.S. I think you struck a nerve with a lot of people around here. Telling, I think.
god, why is there this
god, why is there this "there's no black people on Queer As Folk" argument again... there's no white people on Noah's Arc either! It reminded me of when people used to complain that all four women on Sex And The City were white... where are the white girls on Girlfriends? Now I'm saying there *needs* to be white people on Noah's Arc or Girlfriends, but that it's no different.
Only one problem...
Noah's Arc was cancelled after only two seasons. Queer As Folk lasted five.
I wonder if racism within the viewership of Arc had anything to do with that? Whites and people of color might have watched QaF, but when it came to returning the favor only about a third of the white viewership that had the opportunity to view both did so for Arc, and thus, it got the axe.
I myself, would like to see a frigging multicultural program that includes *everyone* I myself happen to be a man of color, who is *NOT* black, so I would like to see other ethnic groups in a gay-themed show.
And I would really like people to realize in general, that the diverse family of humanity extends further than just black and white. There's Hispanic, Asian, Arab, Native American... frankly, I think Jasmyne Cannick is racist for not wanting more of those people represented on TV... we certainly know her stand on immigration... how racist of her! <snark>
At least Dante's Cove is going to be taking up the challenge, with the most ethnically diverse cast it's ever had to date in the third season. I was pissed that Nadine Heimann, who is of Asian descent, is leaving, though, and her acting has gotten incredibly better over the past two seasons.
Where is Jasmyne Cannick's knee-jerk outrage over that? Did Nadine Heimann fall to the "white gay mafia", who couldn't stand a prominent Asian on the Cove?
That might actually make sense, what with the overwhelming majority of Cove viewership being white gays. Give me a break, please...
Are We Really Gonna Go There?
First of all nobody brought up Queer as Folk but since you did I'll respond by saying Queer AS Folk had an all white cast and ran for 5 seasons with barely a black extra. I know there are more minorites in the state of Pennsylvania. And Noah's Arc, which only ran for two seasons with 8 episodes a season, in response had an all black cast maybe to make up for the fact that there had been no black gay men on tv for quite some time or gays of color period. White gay men could watch a number of things and see themselves while black gay men cannot. Now you name all the white gay men that have been on tv over the years and see if the numbers are equal. Far from it. Let's take gay men out of the equation and just say in general. How many tv shows with all white casts are there compared to casts with all minorities? Those shows were created partly so minorities could have a place on television. Why should they add more white faces to their casts when white people can be seen on damn near every show on tv since it was invented. White people are not lacking in representation. You can't compare Sex and the City and Girlfriends, a show that was created to be the black Sex and the City BTW, in that same way.
How many black gay men or latino or asian gay men have been on the covers of magazines that aren't geared specifically toward gay minorities? Honestly. Why do gay minorites organize their own pride events because they've been made so unconfortable at the mainstream ones? Why are gay minorites discriminated against at gay bars/clubs?
Please. Racism does exist in the gay community. I'm not making it up just to be argumentative. I've experience it as have many gay people of color. People of color in general experience it on a far grander scale than whites could ever hope to experience. There are still places in the US where it is extremely unsafe for minorites to travel through after dark. Some people might not even realize they are being that way. After all, a white gay men is a white man first and a gay man second. People do studies on these things all the time by placing a white man and black man in the same situations and see how people react to them. Whatever. To deny or pretend that these things are just history or us racial minorites as just being hypersensitive or that gay people of color aren't being representated in the gay media the same way as whites is really sad and telling.
Quote:Now you name all the
and whose fault is that? Not the white gay man. It's the African-American culture that is generally more homophobic and less accepting of gay culture that is a reason why more African-American celebrities stay closeted. T.R., Neil, Lance, Ellen, Rosie, etc... knew that they'd alienate people by coming out but at the same time knew it wasn't a career-killer. If Eddie Murphy (long rumored to be gay) decided to come out and tell the world he was gay, there would be a much bigger shock and it would be much harder for him to reclaim a career than when a white celebrity comes out.
I understand your point, but why is it that "white" shows are supposed to be Benetton ads while minority-based shows are allowed to be washed with only one color? There is no point for a white person on Noah's Arc, we're not part of that world, but at the same time, why was Friends so "evil" because the show was mostly white? Joey and Ross shared black girlfriends twice in the shows run, but because most of the people they interact with on the show were white, it was "evil and racist"?
people say this, but I don't necessarily believe it. If the white gay man is valued over the black straight man, than that explains why so many white suburbanite teenagers just love them some Scissor Sisters instead of rap, right? I mean, they just love gay culture while hating anything hip hop centered because they favor all whites to blacks, correct? I don't buy it. Some of the most homophobic white under-25 people I've encountered are rap fans.
Point/CounterPoint
I wasn't talking about the closet I was talking about television but since you brought it up.....You claim African-Americans are more homophobic. Maybe. But it's white men who have the most power to hold gays back. The biggest homophobes out there are Pat Robertson, Mitt Romney, the late Jerry Falwell, a good number of US Governors, Senators, and Generals, etc. and they are white men yet when a black celebrity who really has no power in goverment to do anything to gays says something homophobic everybody is ready to attack the African-American culture. But when a white guy like Romney or even the President says something that's homophobic nobody comes out and claims white people are the most homophobic and starts blaming their culture. Lots of places all over the world are homophobic for crying out loud. Hell, they will kill you in Arab countries but black people are more homophobic. Ok.
Eddie's career was pretty much in the toilet until last year but if Eddie can survive that transvestite hooker scandal from a few years ago I'm sure he can survive coming out. If he is even gay. Until I have proof I'm not going to go down there.
"White" shows don't have to include minorites. Most haven't. That is the point. A lot of these shows with all minority casts were created BECAUSE there weren't alot of minorites being cast on tv to begin with. A white character could easily fit into Noah's Arc, a show that was the first of its kind because it was about black gay men, but again why do these shows have to have white characters when white characters take up a good 70-80% of tv already. Like I said white people aren't lacking in representation. Minorites are. And who said Friends was "evil and racist"? I didn't. But again since you brought it up, Friends was set in NYC, one of the most multicultural cities on the planet yet it had an all white cast. Fine, I guess I could buy that that particular group of people didn't associate with minorites all that often. Even though they live in NYC for crying out loud. But Friends, like QAF, also didn't even have many minority extras over the course of their what was it 10 seasons. You mean to tell me they never bump into black/latino/asian/inserminorityhere people in the coffee shop. We drink coffee too. And I think the show added the black girlfriends(oh two whole black people how progressive of them)because people kept complaining about the lack of minorites on the show. Would the show have added them if they hadn't received so much criticism over the years? We'll never know.
I was talking about white men in general. That includes white gay men and yes white men are generally considered more valuable than black men. It's been proven I don't know how many times. Black people used to be owned for crying out loud and we are still being discriminated against in a number of ways.
What does rap have to do with anything? I guess you are saying rap is "black music" and Scissor Sisters are "gay music". Ok. Well, plenty of white people listen to "black music" but that doesn't mean they aren't racist. I know a white guy who loves rap but wouldn't hire a black person for a job even if he had a gun pointed to his head. But he wants everyone to know it's not because he's racist while my eyes roll into the back of my head. As far as homophobia is concerned, rap music isn't the only genre of music that's homophobic and all of it's artists aren't homophobic either. Hell, there are plenty of homphobic Country musicians and Rock musicians but nobody is claiming that all country artists or rock artists are homophobic just the rappers, the majority of whom are black. Athough, there are a good percentage of latino and even white yes white rappers as well. The most famous rapper and arguably most homophobic is Eminem, a white guy.
"Friends" is a legitimate example of ridiculous all-whiteness
Whereas no one can claim 'racism' (well, Jasmyne will try, but it's par for the course with her) in the case of Grey's Anatomy... if there was truly so much racism that can sway producers, Isaiah and his character would have not been hired to begin with, or dropped before the first episode even aired... and perhaps the Dr. Bailey character, as well (love her, BTW). At the very least, they both would have gotten the axe after three or four episodes, if the alleged "white gay mafia" had gotten its way.
Friends, on the other hand, is a joke. A show set in New York City, and not one lead cast member in the ensemble that's black, nor even an important recurring character??? When they finally introduced Aisha Tyler's character a season or two before the show was cancelled, it was almost embarassing, because of what could be seen as the sheer cheapness of their attempt at last minute PR. It was simply pathetic.
Grey's was well conceived, except perhaps that they should have screened some of the actors they cast better. In any case, not only can they *NOT* say that (the influence of the 'white gay mafia' notwithstanding) the show rejected any racism in the form of blocking African American inclusion, but they even get Isaiah Washington another chance, despite the problems he's had in the past. Oh, and Jasmyne I feel the same way about any number of celebrities, black and white. I wouldn't want anyone to give a job to Andrew Dice Clay (doesn't seem like anyone's stupid enough to), Robert Downey Jr., and *ESPECIALLY* Mel Gibson, "second chances", aside. I've even heard disturbing things about Robin Williams, and I'm not sure if you would want him to be hired, either.
BTW, in the interest of full disclosure, I have always thought the character of Dr. Burke was hot since he first showed up. Mc"Dreamy" wasn't bad either, but I never thought he was Mc"Steamy", for sure. Anyway, my opinion of the attractiveness of both of them has changed, Isaiah because of his horribly unprofessional behavior (which tends to filter back to the character itself), and Patrick Dempsey definitely isn't as impressive (looks-wise) without the crew of Grey's doing the make-up; check out how he looks in the movie Freedom Writers. Not hot, is all I'll say... especially the scene where he says "the food goes straight down" (ugh, God please strike that imagery from my head, I beg you!).
But being a jerk and using the 'f' word on set, regardless of 'the original intent', tends to take away from . And his recent tirades and going on about how Knight should be fired... he's only making things worse for himself, and making me feel that Dr. Burke was grosser and grosser than when I first was able to appreciate his looks in blissful ignorance of what kind of person the actor was.
I *DO* hope that they add a new black male character played by another actor (And if Jasmyne Cannick has a problem with that, it's because she's racist against black men <snark>), and it would even be nice if he got romantically involved with one of the white female characters. It kind of bothers me that the one female Asian resident and the one black male resident have to hook up with each other because "no one else would want them" (it's just a feeling I get), and their relationship has to consist entirely of sex. Although the decisions to cast ethnic minorities on the show is free of racism, due in no small part, I'm sure, to Shonda Rimes being the show's creator, the storylines on Grey's could be a little bit more generous with the dignity it gives to some of the ethnic minority characters on the show.
Unity
Jasmyne didn't think there was anything to complain about from the beginning. She has blamed white gay men for the entire incident. She has issues, I have an idea what they are since I hear them daily however I won't get into them. I think we should unite not divide.
I agree Evan. Screw
I agree Evan. Screw race, this is all about homophobia and the power of the f-word. I can give two craps what color Isaiah is, he said something that shouldn't have been said, and it pisses straight people off to see someone suffer for using the word.
If you're gay and you're on Isaiah's side... I have a website for you... www.exodus-international.org/
Annoyed
Actually, turkish you are not factually correct.
Yes there is racism within the gay community - I've seen it as have we all. But I do think it is less common than in the community at large. I think that in Los Angeles (where both Cannick and I live) most gay people have friendships and relationships that are inclusive of many races. Most people can't look at the group of people they hang with or date or love and see only one color or ethnicity. I certainly can't (although I suspect that Cannick might be able to).
But you also comment that Cannick nor anyone else are accusing all white gay men of being racist. Yet if you read her blogsite you will see this exact sentiment expressed. She, and her readers, judge others solely on the color of their skin and make wild stereotypes about those who are white males.
The sad thing is that this sort of hostility makes it difficult for all of us to fight against racism where it truly exists. I can't be indignant for Washington because it's clear that his problems had nothing to do with the color of his skin (or probably even his homophobia) but with his inability to work with others. And I'm not willing to expend my integrity on screaming about racism where it isn't.
I wish we all could work with Cannick to oppose discrimination and bigotry. Unfortunately, we cannot. Because unless I share her skin color I am suspect. And the enemy. And the Mafia. And, as one commenter on her site said, they'll never lift a finger to help a white gay man again.
Well, I'm sorry Jasmine, but I can't change my skin color. But I wish you could change the color or your heart.
as a gay woman
Agreed
Some days it strikes me as sad that everything comes down to a matter of colour or race. I suppose we are ignoring that the behaviour exhibited was that of a class A schmuck. My ass would have been grass, and more than few would have been a lawn mower if I had uttered such bigoted nonsense.
Everybody and their uncle with an axe to grind or a cause to promote will be jumping on the bandwagon willy-nilly and expounding on the virtues of their point of view.
How about this... will the day ever come that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of where we will judge each other by the contents of our hearts?
Every time I want an example of what NOT to be, all I have to do is take a look around and see some of the loudmouthed bigots within my own extended family, who are a source of constant embarrassment to me. I only wish I had a magic solution to put an end to all of it. I have fought too hard and too long to expose and eliminate this kind of crap in the work environment to give up now, but these kind of pronouncements make me wonder why I even bother some days.
Add the fumbling and bumbling by ABC and others around this whole incident, if it had been handled when it first occurred instead of putting it off until now, perhaps (again my own little Utopia) this would not be causing the public outcry and uproar that it is now.
Some days I just wonder. I wonder why the wide variety of people who come from every part of the spectrum, and inhabit my social circle are treated so horridly by others. I wonder if the day will come when sexuality won't matter. I wonder why instead of feeding extremes, we will find common ground to stand on.
I think I'll just crawl back under my rock and talk to myself. Gay Mafia. Please.
who wants to bet Jasmine
who wants to bet Jasmine Cannick is really a straight woman pretending to be a lesbian to spread anti-gay bias? She's as ignorant as Anita Bryant was in the 70's, plus the side that she blindingly defends IW so much proves just that she's straight
Good Grief
If I had called him a N....., what do you suppose would happen to moi ??
Maybe next time.......
Maybe next time someone who has a lot to lose (actors, sports figures, etc, etc) will think before they open their mouths. How many times have we heard it before. No pity here friends for I.W.
And if there really is a Gay Mafia, please contact me I have some debts some faggots owe me and need some kneecaps broken.
Oh sure, we can say it, just like blacks can call each other the N word.
Am I getting through to anyone?
Intolerence shouldn't be tolerated, PERIOD !!!
And another thing....
So what if there is a Gay Mafia !?! Too bad it's just in Bollywood !!
Can't you just see them sitting and holding a conference in a West LA gay bar, drinking Mimosas and talking about who they are going to take out next ??
Get the purses ready girls, it's time to go take somebody out.
Can U add Jasmyne Cannick to your Mika "Pay No attention" list?
Who Cares?
I'm still not convinced i should give a rats ass about this show or this man. I am sick of seeing every blog in the "gay media" posting nearly daily about Washington.
Frankly, T.R Knight is not the poor little lamb has been portrayed as and IW is more of a jackass than a homophobe. Canonizing both of them as good and evil does nothing but give ourselves false comfort that we are combating homophobia. The whole fiasco is indicative of larger societal problems that go beyond either of them and I am tired of dwelling on just them.
I'm sorry, Brandon, that you can't see it...
... but how many black men will look at Isaiah Washington drop the "f"-bomb and then go ahead and do it themselves? How many *WHITE* men will look at him, for that matter, and buy into the argument that gay rights should not be equated with civil rights, and use that to reassure themselves that their homophobia is perfectly legitimate?
You are right about one thing; there are *ABSOLUTELY* some other serious incidents of homophobia, violence, and other societal problems that need to be addressed, and have been while this whole thing has been bubbling to this resolution. The difference between the way you and I see it, is that it's not a zero sum game, and we can focus on both things if we try. Believe me, I am dealing with larger societal problems and saving a little time to chime in every now and then (trust me, I have not been 'dwelling' on this by any means by posting on a few MBs or blogs here and there). If you've been having more extensive involvement with this thing, and still want to tackle major societal problems, I'll advise you that it's not an easy balancing game, but it *CAN* be done. If you can't do it, we do understand, and please come back and let me know which societal problems you've managed to solve because you didn't bother to pay attention to this controversy.
And sorry, but I have to disagree with you about Knight. He seems incredibly timid to me. People tend to blame him for not coming out sooner, but I would suggest that it was his timidity that prevented him from doing so until he realized that he simply *HAD* to speak out because of the pervasive nature of being able to use words like that, regardless of whether or not the intent behind it was homophobic. I know Cannick, for one, wouldn't care what the intent behind something is when someone uses the 'N' word, so I don't really care for her demonization of T.R.
The dirty little secret
is there is a mentality with a lot of people in the AA community where because black men are so victimized by white people, it's more important to protect them than punish them for what they do. So, they see IW as the victim because the white "faggot" got to stay. It's the same mentality that punishes black women for reporting if a black man raped them. It's that same mentality that makes black women pariahs when they press charges against boyfriends and husbands who beat them up. And when it comes to homosexuality, a lot of people believe that white people infected the AA community with it.
Now I'm as far from a racist as you're going to get and I agree, black men have been victimized by society. But that doesn't mean that they get a free pass for everything like O. J. Simpson did any more than white men should get a free pass for everything.
Let's say that instead of what happened with T. R. , IW had called a woman the C word and got kicked off because of it.
Tell me I'm wrong, I really hope I'm just cynical. But now IW has made himself a martyr and people are all too willing to make him one.