Emmy Winner, Katherine Heigl who played the role of Isobel Stevens in the show Grey’s Anatomy, reveals the many factors that led to her leaving the show and the backlash that followed the decision. In an interview with Variety, along with Ellen Pompeo who recently exited the show herself.
“I was so naive. 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 tells Variety as she really feels the need to let it out there”.
“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. I’ve spent most of my life — I think most women do — being in that people-pleasing mode”. Said Katherine Heigl.
Katherine Heigl and Grey’s Anatomy
On speaking of the many incidents on the set of Grey’s Anatomy she said “I just remember by, I want to say Season 2, we’d become so desensitized to it, we’d be standing on our marks eating ramen over the cow intestines. And they’d be like, “OK, we’re ready to go.” And we’d be like, “OK, thank you so much for —” We just stopped caring. That’s when you’re like, “Things have gone too far.”
Those weren’t the only factors that influenced Katherine’s leaving decision, she also opens up about how she found it difficult to cope with her mental health issues on the set of Grey’s Anatomy.
“Yeah. I was up here in my head, in my gut, in my mind, in my life. I was just vibrating at way too high of a level of anxiety. For me, it’s all a bit of a blur, and it took me years to learn how to deal with that, to master it. I can’t even say that I’ve mastered it, but to even know to work on it, that anxiety and fear — and stress is stress. And if you leave stress too long, unmanaged, and unaddressed, it can be debilitating”. She explains.
Katherine Heigl played the role of Dr. Isobel “Izzie” Stevens, a talented medical surgery intern. In the character she played from 2005 to 2010, she faced a lot of personal and professional challenges in the series and did an amazing job at portraying the strengths of the character. Despite her controversial exit from the show in 2010, her character as Izzie definitely solidified her as a talented actress. She returned to the Tv scene and starred in shows like State of Affairs (2014), Doubt (2017), and Suits.
