Katherine Heigl Addresses 'Ungrateful' Diva Reputation Following 'Grey's Anatomy' Exit

Katherine Heigl has opened up about some of the things she regrets regarding how her "Grey's Anatomy" exit went down.

In an excerpt of Lynette Rice's new book "How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy" published by Daily Telegraph, Heigl, who played Izzie Stevens on the hit ABC series, opened up about her 2010 departure from "Grey's Anatomy" and the "ungrateful diva" reputation she developed following her exit.

The actress admitted in the book that she bears some blame for the negative public perception that followed her departure from the show.

"The ‘ungrateful’ thing bothers me the most. And that is my fault," she said. "I allowed myself to be perceived that way. So much about living life, to me, is about humility and gratitude. And I’ve tried very hard to have those qualities and be that person, and I’m just so disappointed in myself that I allowed it to slip. Of course, I'm grateful. How can I not be?"

Speaking about her controversial exit, Heigl revealed that several things led to her decision to leave, starting when she learned the network was looking to give her co-stars Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh and Isaiah Washington bigger salary bumps. This led to her publicly declaring that she wasn't going to be renegotiating her contract.

"In this town, women who don’t just snap and say, ‘Okay, yessir, yes, ma’am’ start to get a reputation for being difficult. I’ve decided it’s not worth it to me to be pushed around so much," Heigl explained.

In 2007, Heigl became the show's first actor to win an Emmy, beating out co-stars Oh and Chandra Wilson in the supporting actress category.

Less than a year later, Heigl took what appeared to be a dig at series creator Shonda Rhimes and the show’s writers when she withdrew herself from Emmy consideration. "I did not feel that 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 withdrew my name from contention," Heigl said in a statement.

While the actress felt that it was not a big deal at the time, Heigl said in the book that she has come to see why her statement garnered the controversy it did. She explained that she wanted it to be clear that she was not snubbing the Emmys and stressed, "The night I won was the highlight of my career."

"I just was afraid that if I said, ‘No comment,’ it was going to come off like I couldn’t be bothered [to enter the race]. I could have more gracefully said that without going into a private work matter. It was between me and the writers. I ambushed them, and it wasn’t very nice or fair," she admitted.

When Heigl's character Izzie was diagnosed with stage four metastatic melanoma in Season 5, rumors surfaced that Rhimes wanted to kill her off. While Izzie survived, Heigl did not appear on set in March 2010, sparking speculation that she refused to return due to the tension between her and the creative team, which the actress denied.

Heigl was eventually released from her contract 18 months early over family issues, not her burgeoning film career. The actress confirmed that in the book, explaining that the main reason for her departure was that she had recently become a first-time mother.

Heigl said she decided to leave the series after she brought home her first adopted child Nancy Leigh “Naleigh” Kelley with her husband Josh Kelley. According to the actress, starting a family "changed my desire to work full-time."

The book also touched on the rumors surrounding Dempsey's exit from the series in 2015, with executive producer James D. Parriott claiming that "there were HR issues" involving the actor. Dempsey allegedly terrorized the set, causing cast members to have "all sorts of PTSD with him," according to an excerpt published by The Hollywood Reporter.

The book quoted one unnamed crew member, who noted that Dempsey was so "miserable" and had "no one to talk to" when the series' actresses would complain about him to Rhimes.

"His behavior wasn’t the greatest, but he had nowhere to go. He was so miserable. He had no one to talk to. When Sandra [Oh] left, I remember him telling me, 'I should’ve left then, but I stayed on because they showed me all this money. They just were dumping money on me,'" the crew member said in the book.

"How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy" will be released on Sept. 28. Meanwhile, "Grey's Anatomy" Season 18 is set to premiere on Sept. 30 on ABC.