Katherine Heigl talked openly about her choice to quit the popular medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” for which she won an Emmy for her portrayal of Izzie Stevens.
Heigl spoke about the degree of “insanity” that led her to abandon the programme in 2010 in an interview with SiriusXM presenter Bevy Smith on Thursday.
“Like, that may have also worked for me if I could have found a way to function inside it. However, all I could see was that I was up here at a level of intensity that was unhealthy for me. And I kind of ran away in a panic “She said.
Though Heigl is confident in her choice, she wishes she had given it more thought before making it.
“Sometimes when I reflect back on it, I think, “God, I wish I had just taken a moment to calm down.” I’ve taken a deep breath, given it some thinking, and talked to some people about it. How about this scenario? What if I only produce this many episodes every season? “She said.
Heigl said that because of the challenging working circumstances on the popular programme, she went through “heightened anxiety” while producing it.
The actress remarked, “I suppose with ‘Grey’s’ at the time, I didn’t feel I had any other choice but to quit. The fact that I was young and it was shattering me made it worse.
In her six-season tenure, Heigl acknowledged that her mental health worsened.
She said, “I mean, I was vibrating at a level that I was going to become ill and, you know, I did get psychologically sick.
Heigl spoke with David Letterman in 2009 on “The Late Show with David Letterman” about allegedly unfavorable working conditions on the “Grey’s Anatomy” set.
“Wednesday was the first day we were back. It was a 17-hour day, which I find to be harsh and terrible, but I’ll keep saying it in the hopes that it embarrasses them “On the late-night programme, she remarked.
During the sixth season of the programme in 2010, Heigl left. Heigl addressed speculations about her contentious departure in 2021 in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. “Everything changed when I decided to establish a family. My ambition to work full-time was impacted, “Last September, she said.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo defended Heigl and her criticisms of the programme on the podcast “Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo” in April.
Pompeo recalled that Heigl had mentioned the absurd hours we were putting in on a talk programme. And she was entirely correct.
After 19 seasons, Pompeo confirmed her departure from the show in November 2022. Pompeo told listeners of her show that Heigl was in the right. Pompeo remarked, “She was fucking ballsy for saying it. “She was also being honest. She was being honest.”