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Back in 2005, Grey's Anatomy made Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl overnight stars (along with the rest of the cast, including Patrick Dempsey and his McDreamy moniker), but it turns out, that sudden stardom actually made Heigl question a lot about her career and independence. In a chat for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series, the two former co-stars and forever friends discussed how the show offered up a certain kind of stardom and, yes, Heigl addressed her controversial exit from the show in 2010, which is still something that divides Grey's fans today.
"I think that gave me this confidence that was a false sense of confidence," Heigl said of the show's success and, in turn, her megastardom at the time. "It was rooted in something that couldn’t and maybe wouldn’t always last for me. So, then I started getting real mouthy, because I did have a lot to say, and there were certain boundaries and things that I was not OK with being crossed. I didn’t know how to fight that."
Back in 2008 and 2009, Heigl got vocal about her role on the show and the quality of the writing and plotlines she was being given — even going as far as admitting that she didn't put herself in consideration for the Emmys in 2010. She told Pompeo that it was a rough time for her, explaining, "I would not trade anything for my 20s, but I absolutely had no idea who I was and what I wanted and who I was supposed to be and who to make happy."
Richard Cartwright/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Pompeo echoed Heigl's attitude, drawing parallels between Heigl's comments at the time to current politics, saying that when strong women speak up, it can make people feel uncomfortable.
"Listen, nobody likes a super confident woman," Pompeo said. "And that’s why they’re taking away reproductive rights, and voting rights all over this country, is because they don’t want women to find their power. They don’t want women to have a voice. They don’t want women to have control because they know that we can do it better than they can."
Heigl went on to say that she never expected the wave of backlash that she received and she still doesn't understand why people felt the need to dismiss her after she simply stated her opinion and left Grey's.
"There was no part of me that imagined a bad reaction," she said. "I felt really justified in how I felt about it and where I was coming from. I’ve spent most of my life — I think most women do — being in that people-pleasing mode. It’s really disconcerting when you feel like you have really displeased everybody. It was not my intention to do so, but I had some things to say, and I didn’t think I was going to get such a strong reaction."
Pompeo supported her friend and like joked that, like many revolutionaries before her, Heigl was simply too quick to the draw.
"You were just a little early, because they came out with this thing where everybody has their own megaphone and they get a blue check. It’s called Twitter," Pompeo said. "You were just a little ahead of your time, lady."
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