Shonda Speaks!

One of the most anticipated panels during ABC’s part of Press Tour last week was the “Private Practice” panel.

Not because critics are so excited about the “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off (They’re not.), but because they wanted to finally hear from Shonda Rhimes (the “Grey’s” and “Practice” creator) about the firing of Isaiah Washington from “Grey’s.”

Here’s what she had to say…

Was it hard for her to let Isaiah go? “It wasn’t. It was a decision that was a long time in coming, and it felt like it was the right decision for all of us”…

Was the decision imposed on her by ABC? “The great thing about [ABC Studios head] Mark Pedowitz and [ABC President] Steve McPherson is they never imposed anything on me”…

So did she agree with the decision? “Of course I did”…

Would she have written the season finale any differently if the controversy hadn’t occurred? “I wrote the season-ender exactly as I planned to write the season-ender. What’s kind of amazing is the season-ender finished the story of Preston Burke that really paid tribute to that character and the talent of Isaiah Washington in a way that made sense. But also went exactly where our show was planning to go anyway”…

So, is Shonda Rhimes just being the good ABC soldier, or was she ticked off at Isaiah Washington herself? What do you think?...

Can we call this the final word on Isaiah-gate?...