Dr. McDreamy on-set smackdown!

A truce has been reached this week... no, not in Sudan, or Iraq, or North Korea, or any of those other real-world hot spots. No, there has been a ceasefire in the conflict that has consumed America for two weeks: the heated confrontation that occurred on the set of Grey's Anatomy between two of the show's hunky co-stars, Isaiah Washington and Patrick ("Dr. McDreamy") Dempsey.

Washington has now issued an apology for reportedly grabbing Dempsey by the throat and shoving him, as well as using a homophobic slur, on the set. It was said that the incident stemmed from rising tension due to a scene shot in close quarters, and from the lateness of one of the show's actors, T.R. Knight, who plays the intern George O'Malley. It's assumed that the homophobic remark was referring to Knight, who recently told People magazine that he is gay.

The two stars involved in the spat have confirmed that an incident occurred but are naturally trying to downplay it, as are other actors on the show. Washington issued a statement saying there had been a "difference of opinions" but noted that no punches were thrown; "our faces are too beautiful for that!" Glad to hear he's at least got a sense of humor about it... though he was the one grabbing and shoving.

Actress Katherine ("Izzie") Heigl also played down the incident on the Ellen DeGeneres Show this week, referring to it as "something silly and manly...there was a little burst of testosterone in the room and then within five minutes everything was totally fine." Hmmm.... that makes it sound like the two actors were in the locker room comparing the size of their members or something...

Just when you think you've seen everything possible that's silly and moronic in celebrityland, two actors have to get into in on the set. I wouldn't be surprised if it boosts the show's already stratospheric ratings.