“I wasn’t trying to be an asshole”

Katherine Heigl reflects on Emmy controversy after reportedly being rejected for her work on Surgeons.

This 27 Dresses the star appeared on Shannen Doherty’s podcast, Let’s be Brightwhen this topic came up.

“I don’t know anyone but you who would turn down an Emmy nomination,” Doherty said, prompting Heigl to interject: “Well, I didn’t do it, and everyone keeps saying it. I didn’t do it.”

“You know, you have to nominate yourself. You have to nominate your work, and then they’ll think about it and decide if they want to nominate you,” Heigl explained. “I just didn’t nominate my work last year.”

The news that Heigl did not want to be considered for an Emmy nomination was controversial, as the actress had won in the Best Supporting Actress category the previous year. In a 2008 statement, Heigl said, “I did not feel I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination, and in order to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I have withdrawn my name from consideration.”

Sixteen years after the controversy, Heigl regrets making the statement, saying she “should have said nothing.”

“I should have said, ‘Oh, I forgot (to submit my work),’ because it created such a mess that was completely unnecessary, and it really was,” she added. “I was trying to be a little sarcastic about my material from last year, but I also just wasn’t feeling my material. I didn’t think I had anything that deserved to be nominated. I just wasn’t proud of my work.”

She continued: “I would never be so bold or arrogant as to turn down a nomination. I would have accepted the nomination if it had come. I would have been all for it. But I just knew there was nothing that really warranted it this year, and I guess I was trying to be honorable. I was trying to have some integrity. I wasn’t trying to be an asshole.”

Earlier this year, Heigl attended the Emmy Awards where she reunited with her ex. Surgeons co-stars to celebrate the ABC series.