Katherine Heigl’s curious comment about dropping out of this year’s Emmy race (“I did not feel I was given the material…to warrant a nomination”) was construed by many as an opening salvo in an effort to leave Grey’s Anatomy, the ABC drama that garnered her a statuette last year and made her a star. The idea isn’t so far-fetched, since her stock as a movie actress continues to rise: Her asking price hovers around $6 million, she helped Knocked Up reach $149 million last year, and her name recognition propelled 27 Dresses to a $23 million opening weekend in January. Next up is a role opposite 300 star Gerard Butler in the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth. But here’s where it gets interesting: This wouldn’t be the first time she’s tried to ditch a show before her contract expires. Heigl and her agent rallied to release her from the sci-fi drama Roswell when it moved from The WB to UPN in 2001, according to two insiders familiar with the talks, but the request was denied. Heigl’s rep couldn’t be reached for comment, though a source close to the actress insists there was “no hidden message” in her remarks, and that she’ll continue as Izzie Stevens on Grey’s. If its writers are a vengeful bunch, you have to wonder what’s in store for her.
Katherine Heigl: Does she want to bolt from 'Grey's Anatomy'?
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I think she should be fired for disrespecting her writers like that. Even if it was true that she didn’t submit herself cause she didn’t think her material was worth it (not likely) she STILL shouldn’t have said it. I hope Shonda whoops her ass!
She said what most of us were thinking. Seriously? Izzie shocked a deer in the back of a pick up truck. Her much hyped relationship with George was dusted under the rug without any real closure. The writers have made Izzie very unlikeable. I would be pissed too.
And I don’t know why the producers are making such a fuss. Grey’s ratings have consistently gone down this season. Heigl was given awful lines. Why should her career fall with Grey’s? Since this show is over blotted with new cast members, what’s the problem letting her go? Seriously.
of course, naturally, people are missing the point.
A TRULY TALENTED ACTOR CAN MAKE DO WITH WHATEVER THEY ARE GIVEN. A truly classy, respectful actor would never passive aggressively throw their writers under the bus because of poor writing. Yes Grey’s sucked this year and last but there are more tactful ways to say so.
Steve Carell is a zillion times bigger and more in demand than KH and he has said a dozen times he will HONOR HIS CONTRACT at THe Office until the end. He will not bite the hand that feeds him. Kind of like how George Clooney was a class act and honored his contract with ER, even as they let him film movies during the hiatus. One of the reasons why Clooney is still so respected to day.
KH should “let her career go down with Grey’s” because she signed a contract and much like those wedding vows she took, that means something.
Could she be ANY more annoying!!?
she got a couple of hits in theaters and now she’s got a big head. NEVER got into her character. b!tch is overrated anyway. …but that’s just me.
“A TRULY TALENTED ACTOR CAN MAKE DO WITH WHATEVER THEY ARE GIVEN”
Have you seen De Niro in Rocky & Bullwinkle? Or Pacino in S1MONE?
Even the most talented of actors can’t make do with an awful script. And the best thing going for her this year was the dear episode. Which is really sad.
I’m not exactly defending her, just sayin’ that, yes, this was an horrible season for Grey’s, and probably more for her than the other cast members.
Don’t think she’s a great actress, but every actor should allowed to demand more of the show their working on. They have contracts that keep them in it for so many years… If the writers are screwing all up, she should have the right to say so and ask for better material.
“If the writers are screwing all up, she should have the right to say so and ask for better material.”
You’re right. She absolutely has the right to say so and ask for better material. What she probably doesn’t (or shouldn’t) have the right to do is publicly call out the writing staff of the show that made her a star. She, or any other actor who has a problem with the material, should meet with the writers and producers in private. What good is it to embarrass your writers in public?
I’m sure she’s not the only one who’s unhappy with her material. In fact, we KNOW she’s not the only one. Patrick Dempsey and Ellen Pompeo have been critical about their characters in the past. The difference with Heigl is that, when you add in the “Knocked Up” comments, there appears to a pattern here.
Finally, the thing that offends me the most personally is that she takes no personal responsibility for a subpar year. No mention of her work in her comments – it’s all the writers’ faults.
After seeing the semi-finalist this year I’m thankful Heigl had the balls to do what she did. There was a big chance that Heigl would have gone due to the popular vote. What she did was right, and she didn’t say the writing was “bad”. Just that it wasn’t “Emmy worthy” which is true. She said what many people have been saying all season long. Due to her we have some wildcards in the semi-finalist.
Grey’s Anatomy isn’t that great any longer, and furthermore you want to see slamming you guys need to read interviews by Patrick Dempsey and Ellen Pompeo. I read so much arrogant crap from Dempsey during his Maid of Honor promotion I wasn’t surprised it didn’t hit the headlines because she is a woman. What Heigl did was right and honest. If writers are mean to her, then they need a wake-up call on their own snobby. GA sucks now, and it will never be like it was.
Yeah, let her go. Who cares? She’s not the star of Grey’s, and it’s a big ensemble.
The show suffered losing Kate Walsh, but I don’t think I’d even notice if Heigl left.
I see both sides. On one hand, she has had a decent amount of success in movies, but at the same time, Izzie and the show, haven’t been that great since the second season. It’s been good, and there have been bits and pieces here and there that have been awesome, but as far as an overall season, the third and fourth seasons were sub par compared to the second (or the first, for that matter).
As a hardcore lover of Roswell. LOVED that show, love the DVDs – watch them often. It’s legendary that KH was a pill at Roswell. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was trying to get away from Grey’s Anatomy to do movies. But she’s gotta know her rep can be damaged if it’s a bad movie. Why not stay with the show until her contract ends or gets old enough to leave. I don’t think any of those movies mentioned was a success ONLY because of Katherine. It was more the premise; other actors. I think she needs to honor her contract then rethink. But this public campaign to piss off her bosses will not go well. Although I do know what she meant about the Emmy nomination, but it came out bad and only brought her bad PR as a result. Sometimes bad PR can ruin a rep and cause you lack of work. But time will tell what will happen in the future. But because of her past with Roswell; nothing surprises me about Katherine.
Stacey, I”m also a big fan of Roswell but what you said was false about Katherine Heigl on the show. It was actually Jason Behr, Shiri Appleby, and Brendan that were the pills. What you are talking about is idle gossip about Heigl when in fact it was so three that caused the most havoc on the show behind the scenes. Furthermore, it was well known ALL THE CASTMEMBERS during season three wanted off the show. Did you ever read Majandra’s interviews? Man she just tore Roswell up when she was on the show. She wanted off the show to do her music and etc. So please there wasn’t anything “pill” like with what Heigl did.
And you need to read up on your movies. The exit polls to her movies made her one of the biggest draws to those movies. Over 50% of people saw those movies due to Heigl. Again read up on your facts instead of outlandish speculations.
Of course she wanted to leave Roswell. The show was losing ratings and then it movied to UPN. I liked that show, but the writers never knew what to do with it. Funny thing now, if you look at the series dvd set, Heigl is pretty much billed first.
I don’t think Heigl meant any ill will with her statement. Perhaps the writers aren’t listening to her or respecting her opinions. I wouldn’t be surprised because it looks like majority of the cast rebels in some fashion through their interviews. Most noteable Dempsey, Pompeo, and Heigl. Knight is currently implyingh is discontent with how Gizzie ended, and how Gexie is beginning. We are talking about writers and a creator that do not admit their mistakes.
Plus from what I know about Roswell, avid watcher and fan, a lot of stuff was made up during that time about Heigl being a pill due to the competition in the fandom. It is well known that almost all of the castmembers on the show wanted off it. They expressed it through interviews and actions. You’ll be surprised what Jason and Brendan did. I thought those two were the most unprofessional of the bunch. In the end I don’t think this will hurt her due to her production company with two projects with best-selling books.
Hello…
I am well aware that most of the castmembers had issues at the time. But Katherine was most famous at the time. I remember Majandra being unhappy. I don’t remember Shiri or Jason but I have heard they had issues. But back when the show was in production; I remember Katerine being the loudest or the rumors about her being the loudest. And given this is about Katherine not the others; I can only verify there was a large rumor mill in regards to KH from not liking her airtime; wanting off the show; not liking Shiri because Shiri was the lead and took the role Katherine really wanted (the character of Liz). I know others weren’t happy but the fact remains most of her complaints are exactly what we’re hearing from GA set which makes me believe they were true at Roswell. Personally, I believe they all should have shut-up and done their jobs. Sure Roswell wasn’t Emmy worthy but it was good entertainment and a job for them and they should have been happy to be working.
Stacey,
What you are saying is exactly the rumor mills that were spread by the people who hated Heigl in the fandom during production. The only thing that was true was that Heigl wanted more screentime and unhappy. That’s the only thing that was proven. I remember a lot of rumors about Shiri, but only few remained true due to the people who were on the set in Covina and interviews by the cast. It was actually Shiri that was distant from the whole cast. That’s what Nick(Kyle) said about Shiri. Heigl was actually quite liked by the show, cast, and etc. She worked with Jonathan Frakes again after Roswell. So in the end I feel Shiri nor Heigl were like “bad people” or anything in that regard. Media and fandoms like to give the image of beautiful, outspoken women as being bitcas. Not saying what Heigl has done is justified, but for all intents and purpose we don’t have the full story. However, I do think this is being blown out of proportion and in the end she was right. If a guy said this
You guys have to remember many things are made-up in the media and gossip. I worked with a lot of celebrity clients, and I would say over half of the rumor mill stuff or so-called “insiders” are false. That’s not to say everything is false. I think what was posted in this article is true, but my point is don’t always believe what you read about a person. They pull this stunt alot with the women especially the outspoken women.
Count me in as pro-Heigl due to my own interpretation of the words. I didn’t feel there was any “hidden message” either since time and time again Heigl has shown how grateful she was to Grey’s. A person can be grateful and criticize at the same time. I do it often. I just wished many of Heigl’s co-stars would have done the same. Dempsey and Knight shouldn’t be in the semi-finalist this year whatsoever.
talk about ungrateful and overrated. she wasn’t even that funny in Knocked Up
Hello…
I grant that we don’t know the true story. Personally couldn’t stand KH back during the final two seasons of Roswell,too many rumors were in the middle of my liking and the fact the show seemed to suddenly revolve around Isabel in the third season in particular got me. Which goes to the fact according to this posting that she tried to get out and denied it and so they wrote for her at the exclusion of other characters. I admit I was a hardcore Max and Liz fan. Some of that colored it, but over the years thanks to the DVDs I have grown the like the character of Isabel. And Katherine. And I do know what she was getting at with her recent words about the Emmy’s. I am not against her for them. But the point is, some of the complaints that came out about her at Roswell are exactly the same that are coming from Grey’s. If you take that Roswell wasn’t the most happy enviornment overall. The same is being said at another work place about KH. So you have to think she was the same.
Stacey,
Those complaints are very stereotypical complaints for a person like Heigl though. I see those complaints daily with the beautiful, outspoken women. Furthermore, we still don’t have any justification that these complaints are true. A lot of is outlandish speculation. The media and fandoms are like that now. There is so much things that are sprend is sickening. In the end we don’t know if these insiders aren’t gossip reporters(you’ll be surprised how many places use those as “insiders”). In the end you don’t know what is true or not true about the complaints.
Heck, they say the same stuff in regards to Patrick Dempsey’s big ego. Plus you can’t blame the environment on Heigl here. Dempsey is a known to butt heads(he said this himself), and Isaiah Washington is a sorry excuse for a human being. From what I seen Heigl is well liked by the cast at GA. Her and Pompeo were the only two consistently spotted with various castmember throughout the WGA Strike. The only one not was PD
I was going to post my reponse, but Yup gave a far better response than I did. What I known reading Heigl interviews for a while long she does carry the same traits. Some of those traits I find refreshing because they are rare in Hollywood. I don’t think she has ill-intent or anything like that. I honestly don’t think that of many celebrities because I honestly don’t know them. I just find a lot of stuff in the media to be blown out of proportion. I bet Heigl will tone herself down now, and in the end we don’t know what the general audience(the peeps who don’t voice their opinions on the net feels). Many people I know at work really don’t care, or actually pro-Heigl. So I don’t know, but I do think GA Writers are far more snobby. The things they say about Mark and Derek would just piss me off if I was Eric Dane who is trying to give his character depth.
What I find strange is that she was only answering why she’s wasn’t for consideration this year, since it wasn’t like she was pursuing the media to tell that wasn’t a emmy contender this year.
Obviously, she’s not completly innocent, because one would have to imagine the impact that such a statement might get. But still, it was not she was looking for bad publicity. People really turned the whole situation upside down because of her remarks about the show and Knocked Up in the past. But this particular time, I really didn’t think it was her intention to cause controversy.
And, let’s face it, all of them are openly unhappy with show, it just so happens she’s the one that gets more exposure on the media. The only ones that don’t complain about it are Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh, that my guess is that must be the most unhappy of all, only she doesn’t say it (come on, you’re married to Alexander Payne and you’re working with Meirelles and you’re happy in Grey’s? Right…)
Not sure if I’m reading renaton’s post correctly, but I believe Oh and Payne are divorced.
Yup…
She can still be friends with people, but still be considered a loud mouth and want off the show. I like Izzie on GA even during the whole George escapade. I would miss her. I don’t want her to be gone. But there is evidence that she can be problematic on set and has a history at prior workplaces. If you are once. It’s hard to get the benefit. I am sure others are as you’ve said, some have admitted it. But most keep quiet. While Katherine is being loud at certain times. She can still be friendly but want off. Or start the campaign to leave when her contract is up. I just think as much as I got her point about the Emmy’s, she is sorta hyprocritical about the content of her character if she is off doing movies on the side which means she couldn’t have a lot of content for Izzie. She supported the writers; that is great. But then one could say she then bashed the same writers by saying they gave her barely anything to work with so that is why she is bowing out of the Emmy race.
Oh, sorry Natalie, didn’t know that.
I thought she was ‘case Meirelles said to have met her along with Payne.
Still, she was on “Sideways”, she can’t possibly think that Grey’s scripts are any good, at least not this past season.
Stacey, Heigl only worked on The Ugly Truth for the last five episodes though not the whole entire season. Even then a lot of the characters were getting shafted from Cristina to George to Meredith at some point. Look at the whole season four in genearal. They gave Izzie a deer, Gizzie aftermath, and her storyline with Cristina. It wasn’t really big storylines to give an actress who has proven she brings people to the movies, and is award-winning. To me looks like they took Heigl for granted. My point wasn’t about getting off the show and being well liked. You mentioned atmosphere, and my point was that Dempsey is can be a cause of a lot of things through the things he has admitted. In the end one could say a lot of things depending on your interpretation. If one is known to hate Heigl or think the worse, then you would hate. If one is the opposite feeling the interpretation is differently. One could say a lot of things, but all anyone is doing is help sprend the yellow journalism.
Katherine Heigl has always bugged the ever-loving cuh-RAP out of me. To me, she’s always had “my **** doesn’t stink” air about her. And, Katie, it IS possible to a strong, opinionated woman and still be tactful. Give it a try.
Just as this may be a 2nd attempt to leave a show before her contract expires, let’s not forget it is also the 2nd time her comments have painted her as somewhat less than grateful toward those who have helped her get to where she is… her now infamous ‘Knocked Up’ statements.
Some would defend her as “strong” or “outspoken”, still others would consider this pattern of behavior ungrateful and hypocritical (as critical as she is of these projects, she continues to sign up for them and cash the paychecks).
As any true Hollywood insider will tell you, this smacks of the kind of ego most producers would rather do without, from a relative newcomer who’d do well to better consider her long-term reputation rather than her short-term success.
I don’t blame her for wanting to be released from playing an annoying character in a bloated cast on a soap opera.
She has proved her power in opening #1 box office movies on her name alone, so why not make the most of her movie career when it is flying.
Better than being tied to a show that jumped the shark long ago.