I’ve been shocked by the many, many television ads for Katherine Heigl’s new film, Life As We Know It. It looks like a pretty generic romance/baby comedy, and it looks crazy stupid. But Katherine is trying to regain that “The Next America’s Sweetheart” mantle that she tossed away with her big mouth and bitchy attitude. This is the new and improved Dame Heigl! She loves babies. That’s pretty much it. The only difference between the old, nasty, unprofessional Heigl and the new Heigl is that the new one is all about her baby. Below are Us Weekly’s excerpts from Katherine’s November cover profile for Redbook (Redbook’s excerpts here), and you can see that the old nastiness is still fighting to get out:
One of Katherine Heigl’s many surprises of parenthood? Watching her husband Josh Kelley become a hands-on dad to adopted daughter Naleigh, 22 months.
“He’s a great dad. I didn’t expect it,” Heigl, 31, admits of singer Kelley, 30, in the November issue of Redbook magazine.
“He’s such a guy,” the Life As We Know It star explains of her spouse of nearly three years. “I adore him, I can’t imagine being with another man, but he can be very self-absorbed.”
Ouch! Heigl clarifies: “Not in an egomaniacal way, just kind of in his own head and unfocused on anything other than his own stuff. So I was really surprised by how on top of it and how connected he is.”
As for baby number two, the couple may indeed adopt again. “We still talk about having biological children as well. I’m not ruling anything out,” she says. But, she explains, “adoption has been a part of my life and a part of my family, so it was how I wanted to start.”
(Before the actress was born, her parents adopted her older sister Meg in South Korea — Naleigh’s native country.)
Naleigh’s adoption came through just as Heigl began filming Life As We Know It with Josh Duhamel. The time was “a complete blur,” she says. “I had just become a mom….I was all over the place. I was really trying too hard. I was completely bonkers.”
“If I spread myself too thin,” she adds, “I’m not a good actor, I’m not a good mother, and I’m just really high-strung-—and everybody hates me.”
[From Us Weekly]
Yes, Joshua is the self-absorbed one. Right. That’s why Katherine seems to signal in every interview, “IT’S ALL ABOUT ME!!!” Poor Joshua. I always feel like that guy deserves a medal. At least Katherine acknowledges that “everybody hates” her. Except that it feels like she’s just saying that so we’ll say “Oh, no, not EVERYBODY.” And no one does. Because we’re all thinking, “Yeah, she nailed that one.”
Also – a few days ago, Evil Beet covered Dame Heigl’s recent New York Times interview, and it’s the same kind of self-pitying, “everybody hates me” stuff. Evil Beet points out that in Katherine’s mind, she shouldn’t get labeled as an unprofessional bitch because she’s “just being honest” and she’s “forthright in her opinions.” Does she really not see it? We get that Dame Heigl is being honest and that those are her honest opinions. And we think that she’s honestly an ungrateful, unprofessional bitch.
Photos courtesy of Redbook.
I’ve seen a couple of her movies, and for someone who’s just “meh”, I really can’t stand this woman. She seems to be missing the likeability gene.
I have to apologize, I like her. I like her movies and love that baby. Maybe I am the only one….
aw, cute baby…
ok, that’s all I got.
I think you need to chill out with whatever the thing you have with Heigl. Is she bad in interviews? Yes, most of the time. But there are far worse celebs than her, and you never go this hard on anyone….#justsaying
I think her movie career is just about over. After Killers and now this movie, I don’t think a studio is going to want to have anything to do with her.
She’ll probably have to go back to doing TV shows. GASP!
I want to like her, only because she’s got that sweetheart look to her, but she’s got to kick this attitude problem.
i like her! she seems nice and down to earth.
What a generic top on the cover of Redbook
I don’t understand KH. A lot of things that she is a part of, she will turn around and bitch slap. For example, Knocked Up, a movie she willingly made. But when it was about to hit the theaters she went around talking about how misogynistic the film is and how she could believe she allowed herself to be a part of something so vapid. Then there is Grey’s, a show which gave her a start and for which she won an Emmy. But then she turned around and dished about how the writing was less than brilliant and that she could not believe that she allowed herself to be a part of something so vapid. I don’t think she is doing the same thing with her husband but man, talk about a back handed compliment.
Sigh. She really shoots herself in the foot, doesn’t she? And I find her charming on screen, and didn’t think what she said about Knocked Up was that bad.
December – I hope you’re right. I’d love to see KH back on Grey’s! Haha!
1, it would be excellent karma. 2, I love Alex and Izzie! I don’t want him with anyone else…
@Johnny Depp’s Girl No, you’re not alone. I like her too, in fact… I like her a lot. So say whatever you want, but I like Kat, and 27 dresses is my fav Rom-Com (Jimmy Marsden… *sigh*)
Yeah and you keep telling us how you think you is ungrateful and a bitch and so on. She is none of these things. The only problem she has is people like this site and some elements of the press always just looking to pick at anything she says. It is ok..what can we find to take a pop at her with this time. How can we twist something to make her look evil. Sorry but all I buy from this is just a vindictive campaign to try and put her down. Shame on you.
I can think of several women who started out on TV and are well suited for it but for whatever reasons more than likely won’t return and I think Heigl is one of them, she can go on making bad movies for years.
what an ungrateful unprofessional bee eye tee cee atch.. 🙂
As soon as I saw the trailer, I predicted Life As We Know It will be a huge hit. Great chemistry, cutesy story and she does have talent and comedic timing. Personally, I like that she is a bitch with brass balls. I like that she does not pretend to be mis nicecy nice. She is a bitch and owns it unlike many, many actresses. She should not have messed with Shondra, but other than that I love her inappropriateness.
@Riley
For some reason, Katherine has always struck me as a bit insecure.
Yes, she is gorgeous and talented, but to me, her attitude towards Knocked Up and Grey’s Anatomy, seemed to be about protecting herself.
She had won that Emmy for Grey’s and as the show progressed it got worse and worse (my opinion), so she withdrew her name from the Emmy nomination process before coming to be labled as the “Emmy winning actress who never again scored another nomination”.
Same thing with Knocked Up, she probably initially liked it and had fun filming it, but when she saw the final product, she felt she had to “slam it” because she was afraid people would criticize her.
As for this “everybody hates me talk”, maybe she figured it would be easier to say this in jest rather than hearing it from random strangers, who really “hate” your public persona.
Again, this is just my impression of her, though I could be totally off and she really is nothing more than an unprofessional, vapid *insert five letter word here*.
She’ll be lucky if she rates getting on Dancing With the Stars after this flop.
@Jean: I think you make very good, insightful points, and I agree with your observations.
To the folks who like her and think this site has a vendetta, you’ve got to admit that she really does rub some of us the wrong way. However, the reason she gets so much bad press is that she doesn’t have a PR person (right? or is it that her mother handles it?). I think she says things without really thinking them through, or thinking about how they will be perceived. If you like her candor, that’s fine. Me, I don’t care. I sorta snicker when she sticks her foot in it, but it doesn’t make me more or less inclined to watch one of her movies – in fact, NOTHING could make me inclined to see any of her movies; rom-coms just ain’t my thing.
I will say this, Riley is exactly right that Grey’s went downhill in a swift tailspin, and I support anyone’s desire to distance themselves from it.
she has a horse face
I’m with Anonymei: she seems honest to me and I’ll take ‘awkward with the media, but honest, even if a bit bitchy’ over ‘fake, nicey, nicey bullshitter’ any day.
She should stick to drama or action films. Comedy & esp. rom coms are not for her.
I’m jealous that she’s got that adorable daughter, Naleigh. Dang she’s cute!
rom-coms are not my thing, but i still find myself liking her in interviews… yes, she constantly comes off as bitchy [and oblivious] but i rarely disagree with what she says [her character was atrocious in knocked up, Gizzie-gate was the worst thing to ever happen to Grey’s, and so on and so forth]
and that baby is just adorable!!! love those cheeks!
She’s definitely a smug bitch…but I’m almost ashamed to say I like her movies. I even watched the Killers last weekend and liked it. And I can’t stand Ashton. I know, I’m sorry.
Nah, he’s a musician, he’s mind is where everything happens for him you know. I get it, get why she’s surprise how hands on he is.
She didn’t say Knocked Up “was a little sexist” when it was being released or in theaters. The movie released in June,and the Vanity Fair article was in December of that year. She also said she had a great time while filming.
And worrying about her husband being self-absorbed, and not connecting with the new baby, why is that so terrible? A lot of new mothers worry about things like that.
She apologized for the Greys Anatomy thing – though, I agreed with her that the writing was crap that season for her character (and the rest, imo).
She comes across as a normal person to me.
I hate rom-coms with a passion, never watched Greys and don’t know much about KH but I think the context in which she says her husband is self-centered is totally harmless. Married men who are fathers can sometimes be viewed as self-involved, which is why so often the woman ends up sacrificing her friends, interests, hobbies, and ultimately sense of self to raise a child. I’m not saying this ALWAYS happens but more often women give everything up for their family and the man continues with his life as if nothing changed. Yes that qualifies as “self-centered” on the part of the man in my opinion.
I’m afraid she’s going to be around for a while because she’s got the lead role in the Stephanie Plum (book) series. Those fans are really not happy about that casting. If that does well, look out!
The reality is that Heigl’s diva ways go back to her time on Roswell and can we please stop confusing forthright and honest with bitchy and ungrateful. I like women or people in general who speak their minds and who are honest but she crossed that line a long time ago. She’s not the only strong woman in Hollywood but she is universally disliked and has a hard time finding a list costars because of her behavior. If no one likes you and everyone refuses to work with you again then perhaps you should buy a clue and figure out that it’s probably your behavior and not your propensity to speak honestly.
She needs a better publicist. Period. There are lots of people out there who are probably real asshats but they have a good publicist who watches what they say. Look at Tom Cruise. He fired his publicist, hired his sister and then the crazy came out. Recently he hired a real publicist again and now he’s not looking so crazy. I like her as an actress. I think she’s a lot of fun. But she’s not so good on the PR front.
Her movie career is almost over & if she goes back to tv she won’t find a hit role like Greys Anatomy again for a long time (if ever). Whether she is a shinny b*tech or not, the public perceives her that way & that is all that matters for her likeability factor. Young actors like Princess Lea from Glee should take note!!!!
i hate all her backhanded compliments about her husband “He’s a great dad. I didn’t expect it” . terrible.
Her mouth is always open so WIDE! She puts Hillary and Julia to shame! She is Queen of the horse faces. Yowza.
Can’t.Stand.Her.
“If I spread myself too thin,” she adds, “I’m not a good actor, I’m not a good mother, and I’m just really high-strung-—and everybody hates me.”
I like that she said that and I hate interviews where actors act like they can do it all perfectly. (yes, Giselle, we can’t all be perfect moms, wives, potty trainers).
I don’t think what she said about her husband was bad. I think alot of women worry about that but just don’t say it. My husband is a great dad but he thinks differently than I do. I’m always thinking “what do I need to do for the kids/family” and his first thought is usually something he needs. It doesn’t make him a bad person or father, just means we have different thought process and different roles in our family (I’m the one who is home all day and the primary caregiver, he goes off to work).
db8ng1: Ditto.
right on kaiser, this article is perfect, nothing left to say, you said it all. bravo!!
oh i thought of something, she has a horrible personality, her poor husband must be in hell, her big negative mouth? that’s all.
Most men before kids and/or marriage are very self absorbed. Not in a bad way – just their own lives is all they have to worry about. Some men continue to be self absorbed even after so Katherine is giving Josh a compliment saying he isnt self absorbed now that he has a child. Shes gotten a bad rap because she was a little to high on her horse a few yrs ago when in her heyday of fame but i think she learned her lesson and seems to be pretty down to earth.
I kinda don’t like her (don’t hate her, but definitely don’t like her), but I can see what she’s saying about her husband. I used to have a huge crush on him and own his first few albums. But then I heard him in a couple interviews–and these two are made for each other! He came off the same way she does–prententious and kinda egotistical. TOTALLY not what I expected. He basically took all the credit for the success of his brother’s band, Lady Antebellum, because he let his little brother live with him and ‘made him’ write songs. So, I don’t have much sympathy for him.
I agree with comment #31. When practically everyone you’ve worked with refuses to repeat the experience,you have a problem.
That said, adorable baby, and I’m coveting that pink check shirt.
Katherine has said some inappropriate things in the past but I don’t have a problem with what she said here – she’s made her point quite clearly.
My guy has a tendency to get lost in a geeky project he wants to complete, or simply finish a book; I’m sure Josh is the same with his music. Many guys are like that but its not the same as being a narcissist.
Don’t really get why she insults her own projects though
because her newer work isn’t any better. Except Greys, I’m fine with ANYONE insulting Grey’s.
Why are you so down on KH? She is just being honest and it is refreshing. Better than the grovelling ‘like me, oh please like me’ stuff most actresses come out with. And she wasn’t being bitchy about her hubby. Shock, horror, her husband isn’t perfect and she’s not afraid to say it. Doesn’t mean she doesn’t love him. Back off haters.
Why does she always open her mouth like that?
I think she just needs a publicist (and a stylist) and yeah, she’s probably high strung, insecure and has no filter. Sounds like a lot of pp in Hollywood. Sometimes I wonder though…when men are this “direct” does it comes off as being no BS, while the women are seen as bitchy?
she’s beautiful. i loved her in “knocked up.” she is undoubtedly a great actress but she def seems to need an attitude adjustment.
Ugh, can’t stand her. I like her movies, but not her. She’s such a bitch. This is not the first time she’s made comments that pretty much show her true colors. It’s happened too many times to count.
Ok, so for those of you that don’t think she’s bitchy.. here are some other things she’s not:
Humble
Diplomatic
Mature
Pleasant
Loyal
She’d throw her mom under the bus to make herself seem better.
Why would she ever return to Greys? Thats not going to happen. Her departure was too public and she wanted out so bad she refused to finish the season.
While her last 2 movies may have been flops, she still is higher paid then Jennier Aniston, Kate Hudson and a whole lotta actresses. She may be bitchy but she went after a big screen career and got it! They aren’t paying 15 million a movie for her ego.
OK Im one of those few on this list who like her. And, most of you who havent been around so long yourselves she is not a “start out on tv and go on to movies” actress. I saw her in a movie with Gérard Depardieu when she was a young teenager. And no one who is as bitchy as self centered as you all think she is adopts a special needs child.
Give it a rest folks, life is to short to sit and just criticize other people.
“What a generic top on the cover of Redbook”
Generic top for a generic magazine. Who reads this besides old ladies at the beauty parlor?
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