Isaiah Washington clashes with Soledad O’Brien over his conversion to conservatism

The actor and the journalist clashed on Twitter after a seemingly cordial disagreement turned into a complete blowout

Oct 8, 2019

Isaiah Washington (L), Soledad O'Brien (Getty Images)

It appears that actor and overt conservative Isaiah Washington and respected journalist Soledad O’Brien are now intertwined in a war of words all over a Blexit photo.

For those who don’t know, Blexit is the name of a counter-movement led by conservative talking head Candace Owens, which aggressively urges Black Democrats to jump ship and join the GOP instead. The former “Grey’s Anatomy” star announced recently that he’s “come out” as a Republican and that many others in Hollywood are closeted right wingers.

“G’nite twittersphere…#Blexit #LRA #WalkAway??,” Washington tweeted on Sunday along with a photo of Washington smiling alongside other conservative and Trump-loving Black men that he’s met since becoming a Republican.

G’nite twittersphere…#Blexit #LRA #WalkAway?? cc: @KingfaceF1 @PARISDENNARD @DavidJHarrisJr @TheOfficerTatum @robsmithonline @w_terrence pic.twitter.com/mtENQCpBBG

— Isaiah Washington (@IWashington) October 6, 2019

In response to the post, O’Brien retweeted it adding the caption, “Lol,” and that’s all it took for the actor to nudge her to talk on the phone to discuss their political views before he was forced to get “nasty.”

“I don’t know you personally, but we do Follow each other here on Twitter,” he pointed out. “Perhaps you should do a little more research on me before you go down this path. Let’s keep it simple. Let’s hop on call before you are forced to block me and this becomes nasty.”

But O’Brien isn’t new to Twitter feuds and has a reputation for responding to critics with swift clapbacks. This time was no different.

“Or… I can just ignore you,” she suggested to his offer, adding, “Bless your heart, though. (And don’t threaten people. It’s not becoming.)”

At that point, Washington seemingly lost his loose grip on decorum and responded, “What’s not becoming is watching you being paid to act like you’re a credible journalist that gives a crap about ‘real black people. You my dear have been a fraud for year’s. You wanna debate me, I’m happy to do so regarding my current political position. If not, pivot now.”

“I see you’re sticking to the negative narrative that I’d be so low as to ‘threaten’ you here on Twitter,” he added. “That’s not gonna work. And I see you wanna engage here. Listen, I’ve had to watch you ‘pretend’ to not only ‘be black’, but watch you be made the ‘designated voice’ for US.”

O’Brien’s only response was “Babe, focus on yourself” and then she completely ignored him as he continued to argue by himself for some time afterwards, even jumping into his replies to keep the conversation going with followers.

Most notably, when someone pointed out that Washington was what “Harriet Tubman warned us about,” he replied by saying he was even better than Tubman by supporting Trump.

“WTF? I’m doing what Harriet Tubman did and better,” he declared. “Sit down. You sound ignorant. #FirstStepAct”

.@soledadobrien I don’t know you personally, but we do Follow each other here on Twitter. Perhaps you should do a little more research on me before you go down this path. Let’s keep it simple. Let’s hop on call before you are forced to block me and this becomes nasty. pic.twitter.com/4Ico00azcK

— Isaiah Washington (@IWashington) October 6, 2019

What’s not becoming is watching you being paid to act like you’re a credible journalist that gives a crap about “real black people”. You my dear have been a fraud for year’s. You wanna debate me, I’m happy to do so regarding my current political position. If not, pivot now.

— Isaiah Washington (@IWashington) October 6, 2019