Why Actors Should Shut Up

So after weeks of giving contradictory interviews to the media, including one to Entertainment Weekly, Isaiah Washington has now told the Houston Chronicle that the wrong actor was fired. He contends that T.R. Knight who plays George has used the whole called him the "F-word" as a bargaining chip to get a bigger role on the show and a raise.

Now call me madcap but as far as I know, apart from coming out an and an interview with Ellen de Generes, T.R. Knight has been remarkably silent about the whole situation. And it doesn't excuse Isaiah Washington's use of the F-word not once but twice, the second time when he denied ever saying it. In the article, he denies using the word to refer to specifically to T.R. Knight as if that makes what he said to Patrick Dempsey and the fact that apparently he put his hands on him okay. In fact, T.R. Knight was one of the last people to resign with the show, and it wasn't even clear that he was coming back. And no mention has been made of how much more he's making on the show. Katherine Heigel is the one who has been very vocal about the fact that she feels that ABC should be paying her more. I'm surprised Isaiah didn't accuse her of using the incident to get a bigger role on the show and more money. She was quite vocal about how she felt about him after the whole Golden Globes incident.

He also claims that he tried to get out of his contract twice during this whole thing. So if he tried to get out of his contract, why is he so pissed off that ABC finally decided to take him up on it? He goes on and on about how he did everything that they asked of him to save his job. I'm confused, is he saying that he wasn't contrite about what he said? That he only did it to save his job? If so, then he's not going to be winning friends after that statement.

See this is why most actors need to listen to their publicists or just shut up unless they have a movie to promote and then stick to what it is they're promoting. Or get some media training. I remember working atAmerican Express when they signed Tiger Woods as a spokesperson and a memo went around recommending that they have someone work with him on dealing with the media.

The same goes for Paris Hilton. Apparently, she just realized that the media has been making fun of her for the past 5 or so years. Really? She had no clue? Does she know how to read? She's a celebutante with no discernable talent. The media created her!

If you're actor, just act. That's your job. Keep your head down and keep your mouth shut. Don't explain and don't complain, that's what my acting teacher used to always say when we were being critiqued in a scene. I think it's a lesson that certain actors and celebrities need to learn. There's a reason why the old studio system kept the actors on such a tight leash when it came to publicity. Sheesh.

EKM