10 Most Obnoxious Stars In Hollywood

Few actors have the reputation Heigl does for alleged charmless, oblivious rudeness, both on film and television sets, behind the scenes, and during interviews. She famously dissed the writing of both of the hugely successful properties that made her a star, withdrawing her name from consideration for the 2008 Emmy ballot after winning for best actress for Grey’s Anatomy the previous year, something pretty much unheard of for a one-time winner:

"I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials."

It should be pointed out that her reduction in screen time on Grey’s Anatomy that year was after she asked for a lighter schedule on the show so that she could spend more time with her children. She also criticised the working hours of the show on an appearance on Letterman, noting that their first day back “was — I’m going to keep saying this because I hope it embarrasses them — a seventeen-hour day, which I think is cruel and mean.” Those kind of working conditions are perfectly normal when working as a regular cast member on a network television show.

She’d previously badmouthed the writing on Knocked Up, still her biggest cinematic hit, for sexism, saying:

“It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days. I’m playing such a bitch; why is she being such a killjoy? Why is this how you’re portraying women? Ninety-eight percent of the time it was an amazing experience, but it was hard for me to love the movie.”

All perfectly valid points of view on that particular movie, except that the problems she raises would have been glaringly obvious when she read the script in the first place, and in turn raise the issue of why she continued to accept identical roles in romantic comedies over the following few years.

Given her lack of high profile work in the last few years, she’s expressed an interest in returning to Grey’s Anatomy to wrap up her character’s storyline. Why does her storyline need wrapping up? Because Heigl just didn’t show up to complete the final five episodes she was contracted for, asking to be released from her contract.

On set reports from Heigl’s Hollywood projects all concur that she’s difficult and a source of delays and frustrations, on one 2010 movie actually demanding casting approval that wasn’t in her contract. Added to that, Heigl’s mother Nancy is her manager and, from all reports, not the loveliest person to work with or be around either. There’s a real sense that Heigl’s failed movie career has been a lot to do with the fact that she’s a massive headache. As one Hollywood producer noted when putting the kibosh on hiring her in a major role, one she was perfectly suited for: “She’s just not worth it.”