Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes looked back on the scandals that nearly ended the medical drama in its early days, including Isaiah Washington’s use of a homophobic slur.

Washington's firing over the use of a homophobic slur made the "bubble of joy" from the show's success "burst so early," Rhimes said

Shonda Rhimes initially thought the drama surrounding Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington's controversial exit would end in the show's cancellation. "I think the thorn was having the bubble of joy burst so early on Grey's and not having anybody interested in helping us deal with it because that really shaped a lot of how we looked at the world going forward and a lot of how Betsy [Beers,