Isaiah Washington: 'I lost everything after gay slur controversy'

Actor Isaiah Washington "lost everything" after his gay slur scandal in 2007 because no one in Hollywood wanted to hire him.

The star was fired from hit medical drama Grey's Anatomy after an onset altercation with Patrick Dempsey, in which he referred to gay castmate T.R. Knight as a f**got.

Washington made matters worse backstage at the Golden Globe Awards that year (07) when he reiterated the offensive word as he attempted to play down the incident, and he now admits he was wrong to revisit the controversy at the high-profile event because he was drunk.

During an appearance on talk show The View, he says, "When you try to defend yourself, no matter what has been regurgitated, you don't do it backstage at the Golden Globes and unfortunately for me, I had my first endeavor there. No one told me not to drink for four hours without eating! So you know, I was pretty much asleep at the wheel and I had a lot of anxiety..."

Washington struggled to find acting work for some time after the fall out and he found himself in serious financial trouble.

In a separate interview with the Huffington Post, he explains, "After the incident at the Golden Globes, everything just fell apart. I lost everything. I couldn't afford to have an agent... I couldn't afford to have a publicist... I couldn't afford to continue (as an actor)."

However, Washington's time away from the spotlight had a positive affect on other aspects of his personal life as he learned how to rebuild his career.

He adds, "I became a better husband, a better father and a better artist."

Washington has since made a return to the spotlight with his new crime drama Blue Caprice, which is inspired by the real life Beltway sniper attacks in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia in 2002.