Katherine Heigl and Ellen Pompeo sat down to dissect the early days of “Grey’s Anatomy” in Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series.
The pair’s interview, which went live Tuesday, most notably featured details about Heigl’s sudden departure from the hit drama, which, at the time, gave her a reputation for being “difficult.”
“I was so naive,” admitted the “Firefly Lane” actress, who said onlookers often make her “the bad guy.”
“I got on my soapbox and I had some things to say, and I felt really passionate about this stuff. I felt really strongly. I felt so strongly that I also got a megaphone out on my soapbox,” she continued. “There was no part of me that imagined a bad reaction.
“I felt really justified in how I felt about it and where I was coming from.”
Heigl’s exit from the series was shrouded in backlash, earning her the reputation as “difficult.”VarietyHeigl, who ditched Hollywood for Utah to raise her children, remembered feeling “confused” at the backlash. She exited the show in 2010, and her rumored on-set antics fueled claims that she was “ungrateful” and “unprofessional.”
The success of “Grey’s,” she said, gave her “false confidence,” which resulted in “getting real mouthy,” alluding to boundaries “getting crossed.”
“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,” quipped Pompeo, who played Dr. Meredith Grey. “You were just a little ahead of your time, lady.”
Heigl, who left “Grey’s” in 2010, played Dr. Izzie Stevens.©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Pompeo consoled Heigl in the interview, saying the “Firefly Lane” star was just ahead of her time.ABC / Courtesy Everett CollectionHeigl was labeled “difficult” after taking time to care for her child and rumors circulated that she refused to return. She later debunked the gossip, telling “E! News” in 2021 that it proved to be impossible trying to balance motherhood with the demand of “Grey’s.”
Then, in 2008, declining Emmy consideration for her work as Dr. Izzie Stevens further fueled the controversy.
At the time, she, like “most women,” spent her life in “people-pleasing mode,” the 44-year-old star admitted.
“It’s really disconcerting when you feel like you have really displeased everybody,” she added. “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.”
She admitted she got “mouthy” on set with her newfound “false confidence” when the series first garnered recognition.©ABC/Courtesy Everett CollectionNow, Pompeo, 53 — who played the show’s titular good doc for 19 seasons — has taken her bow.
“I’ve been on the show so long, I’m happy to let that go,” she said, voicing her frustrations with her character’s love life. “We’re past that point. I think it’s OK for Meredith to stop making bad decisions.”
But she assured she’s “not completely gone,” hoping to make some appearances “next year.”
It’s “not a completely goodbye,” she said, adding it’s “crazy” that she will be playing a new character for the first time in nearly two decades on her upcoming Hulu show.
The stars also reflected on the pilot episode of “Grey’s” — which nearly didn’t air.
Pompeo’s exit from the hit series isn’t a ” complete goodbye.”Variety
Heigl and Pompeo co-starred in the medical drama for multiple seasons.©ABC/Courtesy Everett CollectionIn 2005, the series nabbed the coveted time slot following “Desperate Housewives” on ABC. Despite an unnamed executive that “almost slept on Shonda Rhimes,” the show quickly became a hit.
“We came into work the next day, and everybody was freaking out,” Pompeo said, acknowledging how “grateful” she was that social media didn’t exist at the time. “The ratings were huge. I don’t even know if people can count that high anymore.”
In fact, one of the most iconic scenes — where Meredith Grey begs her love interest Dr. Derek Shepherd, also known as McDreamy, to “choose” her — has cemented itself into pop culture, especially among the show’s newfound, young audience.
Pompeo, who says “pick me, choose me” in the series, overheard her daughter and her friends using the phrase “pick me girl.”
“Grey’s Anatomy” aired in 2005 and quickly became successful. The show has 19 seasons under its belt.©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Pompeo, who plays Dr. Meredith Grey, exited the series after its 19th season.©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection“I’m like, ‘What’s a pick me girl?’ They were like, ‘You know, girls who are like, ‘Pick me, choose me!’ ” she explained. “And I’m like, ‘Hello?! Do you know who invented the ‘pick me girl?’ ”
But the entire scene was nearly a bust, Pompeo said, because she “fought that speech so hard.”
“That’s another really interesting thing about life — some things that I was so against, and I was like, ‘I can’t beg a man on TV! This is so embarrassing,’ ” she said. “And then it turns out to be one of the most famous scenes ever.”
