Josh Duhamel is defending Katherine Heigl against her “bad rap” in Hollywood, after claiming she acted like a diva on sets.
“She’s amazing … she’s great,” the actor, who worked with Heigl in 2010’s “Life As We Know It” and 2011’s “New Year’s Eve,” said Sunday. said on Barstool Sports’ “Chickens in the Office” podcast.
“She probably said some things she wishes she could take back, but my experience, with her on and off the screen, was great.”
Duhamel, 50, added that he feels Heigl, 44, may have been mistreated over several separate incidents.
“I think maybe that’s what happened to Katy, you know, she’s had a few bad moments and that’s what everybody wants – that’s her label now, and it’s not really fair,” the “Shotgun Wedding” star ends.
Heigl has been accused of being “tough” to criticize projects she’s worked on.
After starring in Judd Apatow’s box office hit “Knocked Up,” the Washington, D.C.-born actress insisted the romcom is sexist.
She told Vanity Fair in 2008: “It paints women as brash, shameless and tough, and it paints men as charming, naive, fun lovers.”
“These characters are exaggerating, and I had a hard time with her some days. I’m playing such a bitch; why is she such a deadly joy? Why is it portraying women? Eighty percent of the time it’s been an amazing experience, but my It was hard to love the movie.
That same year, Heigl withdrew her name from the list of 2008 TV nominees for her role as Izzy Stevens on “Grey’s Anatomy,” revealing to the LA Times at the time that she “felt Didn’t give me the material this season. Guarantee an Emmy nomination.
The move was a bit of a bummer for creator Shonda Rhimes.
In 2014, Heigl later expressed regret about some of her decisions.
“I’ve made mistakes and said or acted ignorantly or carelessly but I always try to right what’s wrong,” the “Ugly Truth” star said in a Q&A at the time.
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to stand up for myself by drawing boundaries and treating myself with kindness and respect,” she continued, “but I don’t do it with any malice or bad intentions. With the same strength and power. Honestly I think each of us has the right.
Then in 2016, Heigl admitted to Howard Stern that she actually went to therapy because of her bad reputation.
“I was really struggling with this, and how to take it all personally, and not feel like there was something deeply wrong with me,” the “Firefly Lane” star previously told the radio host.
Dumel isn’t the only player to come to his co-star’s defense. “Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo recently praised Heigl for speaking up for herself.
“I remember Heigl saying something on a talk show about the crazy hours we were working — and she was 100 percent right,” the 53-year-old TV star said on her podcast, “With Ellen Pompeo ” in April 2022.
“If she had said that today, she would be an absolute hero, but she is ahead of her time. [She] Described our crazy hours and of course, let’s insult a woman and call her ungrateful.
