Isaiah Washington Says Sandra Oh Was the ‘Key’ Behind His 2014 Return to Grey’s Anatomy

• Isaiah Washington was fired from Grey’s Anatomy in 2007 after saying a homophobic slur
• He returned in 2014 to make an appearance ahead of Sandra Oh’s exit, which he credited to her persistence in a post on X on April 23
• Washington played Dr. Preston Burke, the mentor and lover to Oh’s Cristina Yang, for the first three seasons of the medical drama

Isaiah Washington is praising former costar Sandra Oh.

The actor, 61, played Dr. Preston Burke, Oh’s mentor and lover in the early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, before his firing from the show in 2007. Years later, he returned as part of her character Cristina Yang’s exit, and he credited that brief appearance to Oh in a recent post on X.

“Sandra Oh was the key to getting me to come back in 2014,” he wrote on April 23. “She refused to leave the show without my return and she won that battle. I love me some Sandra Oh!”

Washington even responded to a comment shading the long-running medical drama, which read: “We love her also. The show went down, when the two of you left ♥️”

“Facts!” he replied.

PEOPLE reached out to representatives for Oh for comment.

During an appearance on Larry King Live in July 2007, Washington admitted that he was fired after three seasons on Grey’s Anatomy for using a homophobic slur during an on-set spat with Patrick Dempsey. In the interview, he said the “f-word” was not intended to be anti-gay — he said, “I am not homophobic — in no way, shape or form” — but the public speculated that it was used in direct reference to costar T.R. Knight.

He repeated the slur backstage at the Golden Globes, although he continued to deny referring to Knight. He then issued another apology for using the word again.

“I can neither defend nor explain my behavior. I can also no longer deny to myself that there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I’ve asked for help,” he said at the time.

Addressing Knight, who is gay, he added, “T.R.’s courage throughout this entire episode speaks to his tremendous character. I hold his talent, and T.R. as a person, in high esteem. I know a mere apology will not end this, and I intend to let my future actions prove my sincerity.”

Just last month, series creator Shonda Rhimes opened up about the controversy and how she thought it “was going to kill the show.”

The scandal made the “bubble of joy” from the show’s success in its two-year run “burst so early,” Rhimes recalled in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in March.

“And it’s funny, every Grey’s actor I talk to who was there during that time is still traumatized by that incident,” she revealed. “People still talk about it.”

Grey’s Anatomy is still going 20 years after it first aired. In April 2024, it became the longest-running primetime medical drama ever when it was renewed for a 21st season (and it will extend its historic run with a 22nd season, which was announced April 3.) Rhimes, 55, said the positives meant the incident “stopped mattering,” but the sting of the scandal remains. 

“I mean, that was the thing we thought was going to kill the show,” she reiterated.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.