Katherine Heigl News

Rumors have been running rampant about star Katherine Heigl's departure from Grey's Anatomy. The most prevalent theory, bolstered by news of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's return to Grey's Anatomy, revolves around Izzie contracting a brain tumor.

Yesterday, ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson commented briefly on the subject of Heigl's future, and while he said that Izzie isn't going anywhere, reading between the lines a bit reveals some awfully ambiguous statements.

According to McPherson, Katherine Heigl is still very much in the mix with Grey's Anatomy, and Izzie Stevens won't be offed anytime soon.

In fact, he promised the following:

"Katherine is absolutely staying with the show. She has an unbelievable storyline this year, which is central to everything going on this season. Shonda Rhimes is really excited about that; she’s the one who actually crafted that."

McPherson tried to brush the recent controversy Katherine Heigl stirred up when she withdrew her name from consideration for the Emmy Awards.

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Katherine Heigl shops on a day off from the Grey's Anatomy set. Soon she may have a lot of days off from the Grey's Anatomy set, if you know what we mean.

We mean the producers are supposedly contemplating ways to kill Izzie.

We'll have to stay tuned as Season Five approaches and Dr. Izzie Stevens' fate becomes clearer. For now, Katherine Heigl is still employed. Here's a photo of her:

Lightning rod Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl brushes aside recent controversy in the best way a beautiful young actress can - with some serious retail therapy.

Note the question mark. This is not confirmed.

But there's no mistaking the latest buzz hissing from the set of the ABC hit is that Grey's Anatmy creator Shonda Rhimes may be entertaining the idea of killing off Katherine Heigl's Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens. Why?

Lest we forget, Heigl took herself out of the running for this year's Emmy Awards, declining to even submit her name for consideration because she felt the writers failed to give her enough good material in Season 4.

"It's not good," a source on the Grey's Anatomy set told E! Online. "Shonda is pissed. They're thinking of killing her off. They want Izzie dead."

While a dead Izzie may still not happen, it would be a bit ironic, as Grey's Anatomy insiders have long speculated that Heigl wants off the show.

Going public with her Emmy complaint only increased speculation that she wants out of her contract to focus on her film career, which is red hot.

A rep for Shonda Rhimes said, "I haven't heard anything about that." Reps for both Katherine Heigl and ABC declined to comment on the subject.

What do you think? Is it time for Izzie to check out? And does Katherine Heigl have what it takes to leave Grey's Anatomy behind?

Katherine Heigl came under fire after saying she pulled out of Emmy Awards consideration because Grey's Anatomy didn't give her enough material.

But a new report from Life & Style claims that the popular and outspoken TV and film actress seemed unfazed by all the recent hoopla.

As she watched her husband, singer Josh Kelley, perform at Los Angeles' Hotel Cafe on June 20, Heigl had nothing but good things to say.

Asked if she's returning to the show next season, Katherine told Life & Style, "Of course, absolutely. Those people are like my family."

Heigl isn't waving goodbye to Grey's Anatomy just yet.

The report notes that while Katherine Heigl didn't specifically address the controversy over her remarks, she was positive about the show's writers.

She also had praise for her work environment and castmates, telling the entertainment magazine that "It's so funny because we have such serious material to perform, and then we spend the whole day joking around."

It'll be no laughing matter, though, if Heigl eventually does exit the show. But the Grey's Anatomy producers are prepared in the event she does.

Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl may not be the most popular person on the set, or the show's fan sites, given her recent comments about the hit series. But she was named the world's Most Desirable Woman by Askmen.com!

The remainder of the top 10, as ranked by that website, were Alessandra Ambrosio, Kate Beckinsale, Eva Mendes, Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Rihanna, Marisa Miller and Adriana Lima. Not shabby company for Katie.

Here is a little photo gallery of Katherine Heigl - as Izzie Stevens and off the Seattle Grace set - in honor of this distinction. Click to enlarge!

Katherine Heigl is either a genius or an idiot, or perhaps a little bit of both. Either way, it's hard to see what she's angling for here.

Her direct slap at Grey's Anatomy writers by withdrawing her name from Emmy Award consideration due to the "insufficient material" given her character has renewed speculation that the blonde bombshell wants off the ABC medical drama STAT.

She's under contract for two more seasons of Grey's Anatomy, though, and most likely can't make her departure happen because she feels like it.

Unless Heigl burns so many bridges and becomes such a liability that the show's writers decide to eliminate her from the series of their own volition.

Amazingly, Heigl makes about $200,000 per episode of Grey's Anatomy, an absurd amount of money by any measure. The potential to make even more money through movie roles is certainly there, but it's also more fleeting.

One can't help but wonder why Katherine Heigl would be so quick to turn her back (publicly no less) on Grey's Anatomy, the show that made her a household name.

Admittedly, it's been a rough stretch for Katherine Heigl and her character, Izzie Stevens, on Grey's Anatomy. The writers' strike did not help matters.

Even before that, though, the writers may simply be running out of news things for Izzie to do. Once she got together with George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) and that didn't work out, her character seemed to be drifting a bit.

Which brings us to an issue that such a large, ensemble cast is bound to run into once a show stretches into its fourth season ... and beyond.

With so many characters and so many interpersonal relationships, the show runs the risk of running out of plausible and entertaining plot lines.

That, in turn, causes frustration among its audience, but perhaps even more among the actors themselves. The day may come Grey's Anatomy will feel the need to write in new characters and write out old characters.

What do you think? Would the Grey's Anatomy cast be better or worse without Katherine Heigl - and what should be done with her character?

In the wake of the latest Katherine Heigl controversy, two former Grey's Anatomy co-stars are going on the record with Entertainment Tonight about the actress' decision to remove her name from Emmy contention.

A winner just last year, Heigl said she did not submit her name for the awards because of material she didn't feel was worthy of consideration.

Not surprisingly, the show's writers take issue.

Former co-star Isaiah Washington is no stranger to controversy himself. In fact, he removed himself from Emmy consideration after the firestorm of criticism following his alleged remarks about co-star T.R. Knight.

Washington spoke candidly about Heigl's situation to ET.

"It's unfortunate that what is happening is happening. I understand both sides, I was there. I know exactly where everyone's coming from," he said.

Isaiah Washington said he called Grey's Anatomy creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes as soon as he heard that the news broke.

"I've reached out and said, look, whatever I can do to help out, I'm open to it," he said.

Meanwhile, Kate Walsh, who appeared on an episode of Grey's Anatomy this spring and is the star of its spin-off, Private Practice, didn't address Heigl directly, but had praise for the writers on her current show.

"All I know is I think that they're, it's an amazing show and amazing writers, and I love going to work everyday," Walsh said.

Katherine Heigl (seen below vacationing with husband Josh Kelley in Mexico) is expected back when Grey's Anatomy returns to production June 25.

Despite widespread rumors that the actress wants to leave the hit show, she has never made a comment to that effect publicly. Stay tuned.

Never one to shy away from controversy, Katherine Heigl's decision this week to take herself out of the running for an Emmy - sort of criticizing her own show's writers in the process - has triggered yet another round.

Moreover, it's revived rumors that she wants out of Grey's Anatomy.

Heigl, who earned an Emmy for her work on the show last year, took herself out of contention for this year's Emmy race because she felt that her character, Dr. Izzie Stevens, had not been given adequate material.

Recently, Heigl signed on to star in and produce a movie based on the book Escape by Carolyn Jessop, the former Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints member who fled the polygamous sect.

Katherine is also starring in the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth, and has already scored two  big box office hits with Knocked Up and 27 Dresses.

While it is not unusual for TV stars to film movies during hiatus, some wonder if the Emmy snub is just the latest in a long string of events indicating that Katherine Heigl wants to leave the cast of the hit show.

ABC and Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes had no comment.

One day after Katherine Heigl announced she would drop out of this year's Emmy race, because Grey's Anatomy did not give her material to warrant a nomination, a key show insider is fighting back against the comment,

Contacting Entertainment Weekly to address the actress' public complaint about the show, the Grey's Anatomy writer/producer was far from pleased:

"The show bent over backwards to accommodate her film schedule, and then she criticizes the show for lack of material? It's an ungrateful slap in the face to the very writers responsible for her Emmy win in the first place."

She made the comments June 12 after the star's name did not appear on the list of Emmy contenders distributed by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

The omission was especially bizarre, considering that Katherine Heigl actually won last year's award for outstanding supporting actress in a drama.

Critics jeered Heigl's performance early in the season, complaining about the romance between her character, Izzie, and George (T.R. Knight).

But the actress shined in Grey's Anatomy's Season Four finale when her character redeemed herself, as well as her career at Seattle Grace.

This isn't the first time Katherine Heigl has publicly criticized the show that helped to make her a household name, as we know.

Last year, she dropped out of salary renegotiations, reportedly because she felt the studio doesn't value her as much as it does her cohorts.

ABC fired back, insisting the Grey's Anatomy star had in fact been offered a substantial raise. Heigl has since received a salary bump.

Katherine Heigl is at it again.

Call her what you want - the beautiful and talented star always speaks her mind. This time, the actress is not up for consideration at this year's Emmy Awards.

Heigl herself isn't seeking a nomination.

Her reasoning? Grey's Anatomy didn't provide the material this season for her character to produce an Emmy award-worthy performance.

Heigl, who was honored as Best Supporting Actress in a drama last year, has declined to put her name under consideration for a bid.

"I did not feel 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 decided against competing," Katherine Heigl said in a statement.

"In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials," she added.

Katherine plays Dr. Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy, which slipped in the ratings significantly this past season but remained a top 10 show.

An after-hours message left by the Associated Press for Grey's Anatomy creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes was not immediately returned.

Heigl, who shot to box-office success last summer with the comedy Knocked Up, has established herself as one of Hollywood's rare voices of candor.

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