Katherine Heigl is opening up about the perception that she is ‘difficult’ to work with in a wide-ranging new interview.
The 42-year-old blonde beauty broke out with the role of Dr Izzie Stevens on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, though she raised eyebrows in 2008 for not submitting herself for the Emmys and in 2009 for complaining about the 17-hour workdays.
She also faced criticism for saying her 2007 movie Knocked Up was ‘a little sexist,’ though she admitted in a profile with the Washington Post that things spiraled out of control, in a sense.
Not difficult: Katherine Heigl is opening up about the perception that she is ‘difficult’ to work with in a wide-ranging new interview
Spiral: She also faced criticism for saying her 2007 movie Knocked Up was ‘a little sexist,’ though she admitted in a wide-ranging profile with the Washington Post that things spiraled out of control, in a sense
‘I may have said a couple of things you didn’t like, but then that escalated to “she’s ungrateful,” then that escalated to “she’s difficult,” and that escalated to ‘she’s unprofessional,”‘ Heigl said.
‘What is your definition of difficult? Somebody with an opinion that you don’t like? Now, I’m 42, and that s**t pisses me off,’ she added.
The actress added that she was, ‘quickly told to shut the f— up. The more I said I was sorry, the more they wanted it.’
Escalated: ‘I may have said a couple of things you didn’t like, but then that escalated to “she’s ungrateful,” then that escalated to “she’s difficult,” and that escalated to ‘she’s unprofessional,”‘ Heigl said
Sorry: The actress added that she was, ‘quickly told to shut the f— up. The more I said I was sorry, the more they wanted it’; seen in 2008
‘The more terrified and scared I was of doing something wrong, the more I came across like I had really done something horribly wrong,’ Heigl added.
Heigl left Grey’s Anatomy in 2010 to pursue a career in movies, though her films such as Killers, Life As We Know It, One For the Money and The Big Wedding all underperformed, if not flopped at the box office.
‘You can be the most awful, difficult, horrible person on the planet, but if you’re making them money, they’re going to keep hiring you,’ Heigl said.
Hiring: ‘You can be the most awful, difficult, horrible person on the planet, but if you’re making them money, they’re going to keep hiring you,’ Heigl said; seen in 2012
Left Grey’s: Heigl left Grey’s Anatomy in 2010 to pursue a career in movies, though her films such as Killers, Life As We Know It, One For the Money and The Big Wedding all underperformed, if not flopped at the box office
‘I knew that whatever they felt I had done that was so awful, they would overlook it if I made them money — but then my films started to make not quite as much money,’ she added.
She even hit a point around 2015, where she felt she’d, ‘rather be dead,’ though her family helped her get through those tough times.
‘I asked my mom and my husband to find me somewhere to go that could help me because I felt like I would rather be dead. I didn’t realize how much anxiety I was living with until I got so bad that I had to really seek help. You can do a lot of inner soul work, but I’m a big fan of Zoloft,’ Heigl said.
Dead: She even hit a point around 2015, where she felt she’d, ‘rather be dead,’ though her family helped her get through those tough times; seen in My Father The Hero
Her husband, Josh Kelley, who she married in 2007, said that if Heigl had said the things she said then, in today’s climate, she’d be considered, ‘a hero.’
‘I can’t imagine what all of that pressure did to her over the years, dealing with celebrity, dealing with people saying things about her that are not true. It would be hard for anybody to process that, especially when it’s unjust and a lot of it’s negative,’ Heigl said.
She even had another advocate in her 27 Dresses co-star James Marsden, who had nothing but glowing things to say about her.
Advocate: She even had another advocate in her 27 Dresses co-star James Marsden, who had nothing but glowing things to say about her
‘She has very strong convictions and strong opinions on certain things, and she doesn’t back down from letting you know if she feels like she’s been wronged in any way. I’ve always seen that as just strength of character,’ Marsden said.
‘I can see how that can get construed as being difficult or ungrateful or whatever. But if you know Katie, it’s simply because she has the courage to stand behind something she believes,’ he added.
Marsden continued, ‘One element of Katie that I’ve always thought would define her was her drive. I never thought that she was going to be one that idles well. She’s not going to sit there. She’s going to take control and do it her way.’
Strong: ‘She has very strong convictions and strong opinions on certain things, and she doesn’t back down from letting you know if she feels like she’s been wronged in any way. I’ve always seen that as just strength of character,’ Marsden said; seen in Suits