Katherine Heigl Debunks Rumor She 'Turned Down' Emmy Nomination While on Grey's Anatomy

While appearing on Shannen Doherty's podcast Let's Be Clear, the 45-year-old actress opened up about a rumor claiming she turned down an Emmy nomination for her work as Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevenson the television series.

"Well, I didn't [turn down an Emmy nomination] and everybody keeps saying that. I didn't turn it down," the actress told Doherty.

"You know, you have to submit yourself. You have to submit your work and then they deliberate and then they decide if they want to give you a nomination. I just didn't submit my work that year ... I should have said nothing. I should have said, 'Oh, I forgot [to submit my work],' because it created such a maelstrom that was so unnecessary, and it really was."

The rumor mill began to spin back in 2008 when Heigl said: "I do not feel I was given the material this season to warrant a nomination."

Heigl admitted she was making a "snarky point" about the material the 20-season long drama series produced that year.

She revealed to Doherty that she in fact "wasn't proud" of her work and was trying to have some "integrity," insisting that if she received a nomination she would not turn it down.

"I was kind of trying to make a bit of a snarky point about my material that year, but I was also just not feeling my material," Heigl said.

"I didn't think I had anything that warranted even the consideration for a nomination. I just wasn't proud of my work. I would never be so bold or so arrogant to turn down a nomination. I would take that nomination if it came my way. I'd be down. But I just knew there wasn’t anything that would really warrant one that year, and I was trying to be honorable. I guess I was trying to have some integrity. I wasn't trying to be a d--k."

She was released from her Grey's Anatomy contract in 2010. The January 21 episode in 2010 marked her final appearance on the show as Izzie. However, she later made a surprise appearance in season 16.

Heigl has seemingly made amends with the series.

She appeared on stage at the 2023 Emmys in January with her former costars Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson, Justin Chambers and James Pickens Jr. to present the award for supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie to Paul Walter Hauser.

During a recent interview with Pompeo on Variety's Actors on Actors series, the Knocked Up star admitted she was "so naive" in how she handled her controversial exit from the show.

"There was no part of me that imagined a bad reaction," she said at the time. "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. It's really disconcerting when you feel like you have really displeased everybody. 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."