'Grey's' creator speaks, says little

LOS ANGELES, June 15 (UPI) -- "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes talked with "Access Hollywood" about the firing of actor Isaiah Washington, but she didn't shed much light on it.

In what "Access Hollywood" called her first public comment about the decision to sack Washington, Rhimes said Washington would not be replaced with another actor because she doesn't "believe in replacing one actor with another."

Washington was fired from the Golden Globe-winning TV medical drama last week, five months after entering a treatment program as part of an effort to atone for calling costar T.R. Knight a "faggot."

Talking Thursday with "Access Hollywood," Rhimes stopped short of discussing the specifics of that episode.

"I think there have been things that have happened that have been within the family, that stay within the family," Rhimes said.

When news broke that Washington would not be returning for the upcoming season of "Grey's Anatomy," he issued a statement quoting a famous line from the 1976 movie "Network."

"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore," the statement said.

Washington subsequently said he was sad, not angry, about the dismissal.