This year, Katherine Heigl will not be nominated for an Emmy. The “Grey’s Anatomy” actress has dropped out of contention for the 2008 award, blaming her move on the show’s writers.
When queried by Tom O’Neil, columnist for the Los Angeles Times’ entertainment awards website TheEnvelope.com, why Heigl, 29, did not submit her name for consideration as an Emmy nominee this year, she explained her somewhat noticeable absence from the ballot.
“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.,” she told the Los Angeles Times’ O’Neil.
Heigl isn’t the only “Grey’s Anatomy” star to withdraw their name from consideration for an Emmy.
Isaiah Washington, a former castmate, declined to submit his name to the juror panel in April.
Last year, Heigl won the prime-time Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a drama for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on the ABC medical drama, defeating two other co-stars, Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson.
“Grey’s Anatomy” received 18.7 million viewers for the season during Heigl’s Emmy-winning Season 3 performance. On average, 14.4 million people watched Season 4.
This isn’t the first time Heigl has criticized the content for a film in which she featured.
She told Vanity Fair last summer that she believed “Knocked Up” was “a little sexist” following its box office triumph.
However, as soon as the piece hit the newsstands, she retracted her statement.
In a statement to Vanity Fair, Heigl stated, “It’s important to me to take a minute and clarify the quote about ‘Knocked Up’ in Vanity Fair.”
Heigl said she felt compelled to provide a clarifying statement regarding her remarks so that others might understand her point of view.
In a statement, Heigl stated, “I was responding to previous reviews about the movie the interviewer brought to my attention. My motive was to encourage other women like myself to not take that element of the movie too seriously and to remember that it’s a broad comedy.
“Although I stand behind my opinion, I’m disheartened that it has become the focus of my experience with the movie. The truth is, it was the best filming experience of my career. Every person that was a part of making ‘Knocked Up’ helped to encourage, support and inspire me. I never intended for anyone to think otherwise.”
ABC, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, said it had no comment on Heigl’s decision.
