Defending Katherine Heigl...Again

What is it about beautiful, opinionated women that makes all of Hollywood (especially the media) want to scream? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it's not like berating women for speaking up is a new practice. If memory serves me correctly, both Jane Fonda and Barbra Streisand got handed a very large can of whooping ass for expressing their personal and political opinions. In Hollywood, you can be a do good political persona ala Angelina Jolie, but having an opinion that might call Hollywood on the carpet, that's a no no.

The person in the center of the current "everyone in Hollywood hates me" storm is Katherine Heigl star of Grey's Anatomy and 27 Dresses. You might recall that earlier this year she had the gaul to say that Knocked Up was sexist (which it was), and for that honesty she was labeled as ungrateful and her film career was declared dead. It's a good thing her fans didn't get that message because the gross of 27 Dresses was $76 million in the US and almost $160 million worldwide.

Recently, she had the nerve to decline to submit herself for Emmy consideration and publicly mentioned that she felt her storyline this past season was unworthy of recognition (another truth.)

Everyone pounced calling her ungrateful (again) and adding that she wants out of her TV contract to make movies. Rumors surfaced (everywhere) that the writers and producers were upset and that the set was full of tension. Many a site began the Izzie death watch. The venom that was displayed was way over the top. People didn't just want her to get fired (for giving an opinion no less), but they wanted her character to die. That's the lesson a woman gets for speaking out about something that honestly is not really important at all -- an Emmy award nomination -- yet people want to punish her in such a profound way. Extrapolating this into real life, if a woman gets punished for speaking out about something as trivial as an award nomination, imagine the message the rest of us get about speaking out about issues like equal pay, choice, rape...you get the picture. The message is to shut up and take what you got and don't make waves cause you will be punished. Sound familiar?

It took a while but finally one of her co-stars Chandra Wilson (Dr. Bailey) found her voice and explained to us lay people about the Emmy nomination process. You really need have had a spectacular episode to submit. Some years you have one, some you don't, and if you don't you shouldn't bother submitting.

I didn't find another person in print defending Heigl until I read Mark Harris' column in EW. Harris is the author of the critically acclaimed Pictures at a Revolution. I meant to give him some props for his earlier column that took it to the Hollywood suits for their pathetic realization that women do go to the movies after the success of Sex and the City. Please check out the story: Hollywood 'Shocker': Women Go To Movies.

But his defense of Heigl and women in Hollywood is fantastic. I'm still shocked that there are so few people willing to stand up for this woman? Where are the other Hollywood actresses?

Could there be a worse career move for an actress than telling the truth?

Little has changed, except the coarseness with which celebrities can now be discussed -- and the rules actresses must obey. Among them: Have a ''positive body image,'' but also a killer body. Stay within the two-pound weight range that will not reveal you as either anorexic or a pig. Age gracefully, but never get older. Don't have wrinkles, but don't use Botox. Be modest, but when you win an award, weep as if a gold statuette is a personalized gift from heaven. If you get pregnant, be prepared to let a dozen news outlets act as your ob-gyn. Express concern about your carbon footprint, but don't be ''political.'' Talk about how living a normal life is important to you, but smile while every aspect of it is scrutinized.

I like Heigl because there seems to be a person in there, one who occasionally saythings that people can't stand. (And really, if she'd said, ''Actually, I do think my material should get me an Emmy nomination,'' would that sound better?) I like the fact that she busted Isaiah Washington for homophobia when everyone behind the scenes at Grey's Anatomy was busy staring into space. I like the fact that she gently tweaked Judd Apatow for the slight gender imbalance in Knocked Up. I like the fact that her first thought after winning an Emmy wasn't ''How can I get another one?'' And I like the fact that her mouth -- which is not even slightly ugly -- is connected to her brain. Katherine Heigl's 'Grey' Matter: What's the Problem? (EW)

The treatment of Katherine Heigl should be a lesson to all women, and not just in Hollywood. We need to stand up and support each other.

Cross posted at Women & Hollywood

Comments

[TheSkyver]

Just because they accommodated her schedule for her to make her movies automatically means that it"s ok for those writers to write a bad story line? Isn"t that a cop out? That"s like an actress blaming another actress for getting those parts. Roswell was a doomed show that did NOTHING for the actors on that television show. I don"t think there was one thing good about that show being said. Grey"s Anatomy has gone down hill BIG TIME since season three. Strike or no strike, and as for Knocked up? Who can blame her? The movie did sucked.

You say what she did is indefensible? Well keep this in mind. If she were to work on a show that had continued to go down hill and do MORE bad writing, it would show that she didn"t care about what she was working on. But the fact that she has enough balls to actually SIDE with the audience and in a way agreeing with them it shows that she does care.

I hope she does leave as well. But not for the same reasons that a lot of haters seem to share. It"s because no serious actress or actor should stay on a television show for too long. I think 5 seasons frankly is long enough. I"m shocked it got picked up for a 5th one.

[josephbua]

So, you forgot to mention that she did the same thing during the run of Roswell, that the Grey's production people worked around her schedule all season to accomodate her movies, that she also dissed the one movie that has really hit for her (Knocked Up, which frankly isn't as good as Superbad or 40-Year-Old Virgin) and on top of it all you're playing the gender card.

The reason you are the only person defending Katy Heigl is that what she continues to do is indefensible.

I don't even watch the show, and I hope she's terminated at the end of the season. She'll have plenty of time to have tea with Shelley Long and talk about her film career.

[Fudgefase]

Her storyline this season was dull - there were no 'stand-alone' episodes. An Emmy shouldn't even have been considered - and probably wasn't until the press started asking their then 'latest golden girl' whether she was going to get one this year.
How could any film with a title of 'Knocked Up' be anything less than sexist? News flash: the genders can still laugh together over sexist sh!& - just as long as we realise that's what it is. The stereotypes weren't overly kind to Apatow either. Her character was just silly. Most professional women in her position would have handled it differently - why you'd want that guy in your life I couldn't guess.
Katherine Heigl is an actress, a wife and a modern, young woman.
All her life she's been told that we can have it all - intelligence, beauty, a career, your own mind, your own life.
She's not flashing her wotsit when she gets out of cars; she's not falling around drunk; she's not smashing cars like the streets were her own private demolition derby track.
She gives her opinions from time to time. They're her opinions, not facts, not laws.
They're just opinions. They carry as much weight as each of us want to give them. It's between her and her employers what she feels she can say to the press.
Let her be.

[DennyCrane]

In order to determine whether there really is a double standard at work, ask yourself whether a male actor would be treated this way by Hollywood. The answer is yes. Think back to David Caruso who quit the show that made him a star one year after the show started. Hollywood turned their back on him. The truth is that Heigl is being treated the same as any male actor. When you badmouth the people who made you rich and famous and took a chance on you, is it any wonder that they turn on you?

[alsm9]

Not the same situation at all. David Caruso's career fell flat because he's a really really really bad actor and everyone new it accept for him.

[Fudgefase]

Personally I like Caruso - he's an actor that works on the small screen where tight shots work best, not in a film where the larger screen is the key.
He picked a terrible film to jump to, and I think his cinematic career was doomed from there.
NYPD was a REALLY well written show - it launched several careers.
CSI;Miami is a success as well. He just needs to pick the right part.

[alsm9]

"He's an actor that works on the small screen where tight shots work best, not in a film where the larger screen is the key."

That's what makes him a bad actor. A great actor/actress is adaptable because they are good at what they do. Acting is a skill. :)

[Prousa]

Just what do you have against the Gauls, anyway?

[Fudgefase]

I noticed that too. C'est la vie...

[alsm9]

I agree with you on all points. I think her statement regarding her Emmy withdrawl was taken out of context. And women aren't allowed to be critical, unless it's about ourselves..pft!

But I do think I need to watch Knocked Up again because I'm not clear on it's sexism....I don't doubt that it is....but I found it really funny so maybe I wasn't paying enough attention? If it's because of the lack of female characters, well, that's nothing new and certainly not specific to that film. If it's because of the way women are portrayed, well, frankly it doesn't flatter the men either...with that said, I applaud her for pointing it out.

[earlgreyrooibos]

I can't say I've seen much of Heigl's work . . . . no interested in "Knocked Up" at all, nor "27 Dresses," and I can't sit through a full episode of Grey's. But I nonetheless admire her for actually having opinions and speaking her mind. She might be the only celebrity I admire even though I don't pay much attention to her work.

[akhmed]

It makes sense that if one works on a media production, one should not make comments about the production which would have the effect of depressing sales.

It's basically being ungrateful to the people you work with and the people who got you the job.

There might be good reasons for doing so, but sometimes, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it.

[energiaeinformazione]

I liked this article and I think you've made a lot of great points. I definitely feel more appreciative of Katherine Heigl.....

But I have to mention....Knocked Up is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.

[BigCheese]

You need to see more movies.