Patrick Dempsey says that Isiah Washington has changed, or at least he seems to have.  The Grey's Anatomy star has been observing Washington from a safe distance though since the infamously homophobic star grabbed Dempsey by the throat for defending Grey's Anatomy costar T.R. Knightly against a  gay slur.  The situation, now just a few months short of being a year old, called for stern action from Grey's Anatomy producers, particularly after Washington made the mistake of repeating the slur at the Golden Globes, albeit in a regretting context.

Dempsey was approached by IMDB reporters recently to check in on how things are going since Washington spent his week in anger rehab.  Dempsey's response was tentatively reassuring at best.

"I haven't spent enough time around him to honestly know what's going on with him... (but) you do have a feeling, when you look at him, that something is different, and that he is working on things. You can't get away from the fact he's doing a great job on the show; he does beautiful work. He's very passionate about it. He allows himself to feel deeply and sometimes that's very difficult to contain and control appropriately."  Dempsey told IMDB.

The entire event had an unexpected spill-over into the world of politics months later when Anne Coulter addressed a Republican shin dig and used the very same slur Isiah used, mocking the need to seek help if afflicted with such a loose tongue for hate speech.  No word on how her rehab is going.

I despise hate speech as much as the next guy, but I've got to think the more important item of this situation isn't does Isaiah still use naughty words, but does he still grab his co-workers by the throat.