Seth Rogen revealed the real reason he believes Anne Hathaway‘s decision to drop out of his 2007 rom-com Knocked Up.
“It was Anne Hathaway who quit the movie,” the Studio star, 44, said during a Wednesday, July 1, appearance on “The A24 Podcast” alongside his The Invite director and costar Olivia Wilde.
Wilde, 42, asked Rogen if the rumor that Hathaway, 43, exited the movie due to the “crowning” scene was true.
“Yeah, I mean … it could have been a hundred million things. That was what I remember being told,” he explained. “Crowning is a tough one. She didn’t want the crowning of the baby to be visually representative. Even though it wasn’t going to be hers … It’s obviously not real.”
Rogen continued, “She felt that it was not her brand. Part of me also … we had started rehearsing the movie … maybe she was just like, ‘I don’t know if this is for me.’ I don’t know. I will take what she said at face value, which was the crowning.”
The actor added that Hathaway “had a sense” that the role “was not for her” and Katherine Heigl was cast in her place.
“And history will tell … she has been right about a lot more things than I have over the years. So I think she was probably right,” Rogen reflected. “[Heigl] knew what was right for her, yes. And then Heigl was great. Katie Heigl was great.”
Knocked Up starred Rogen, Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel and Martin Starr. The 2007 rom-com was directed by Judd Apatow and followed Rogen and Heigl’s characters after a one-night stand results in an unintended pregnancy. Knocked Up was a box office smash, earning $219 million worldwide and glowing reviews from critics.
While Rogen believes Heigl nailed her role as Alison, the actress has been outspoken about some of the film’s problematic aspects since its release. She called the movie “a little sexist” and criticized her own performance during a 2008 interview with Vanity Fair.
Rogen later shared that Heigl’s remarks hurt his feelings.
“I thought she hated us,” Rogen said in a 2016 interview with Howard Stern. “We just heard she didn’t like it and that it seemed like she didn’t have a good experience making it and that she didn’t feel the product was reflective of how she thought she should be portrayed. And when that happens, as someone who’s an egomaniac, I just get hurt by that.”
Following Rogen’s admission, Heigl shared that she had nothing but love for the actor.
“I think that he’s handled that so beautifully and I just feel nothing but love and respect,” she said in a 2016 interview with Entertainment Tonight. “It’s so long ago at this point, I just wish him so much goodness and I felt that from him too.”
