Don’t hold back. Katherine Heigl finally weighed in on a shocking Grey’s Anatomy twist that saw Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and her character, Izzie Stevens, reunited in season 16.
The Firefly Lane star, 42, told Entertainment Tonight she hasn’t watched the episode, which aired in March 2020, but had some thoughts on her onscreen beau’s behavior.
“Wasn’t he with someone?” she said in the Wednesday, January 27 interview, referencing Alex’s wife Jo (Camilla Luddington). “Listen, isn’t that an a–hole move?”
Alex and Izzie’s reunion on the show served as the end of Chambers’ story line. During the episode, viewers learned that the doctor left Seattle and reunited with his old love interest. Alex and Izzie were raising twin daughters on a horse farm in Kansas — information he revealed to Jo and longtime friend Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) in a series of letters.
Viewers were taken aback by the plot point, but not entirely disappointed. “Do I think this reunion makes sense? No. Do I care? F–k no. I got my Alex and Izzie endgame!” one fan tweeted at the time. Another wrote, “They killed all my other ships I will take this win idc idc idc Jo who? Alex and Izzie was my forever ship.”
As for potentially returning to Grey’s Anatomy herself, Heigl isn’t ready to write it off — however unlikely it may be. “I’m super focused on this show and my passion for it,” the Knocked Up star told ET. “I would never say never but it’s not likely.”
Heigl left Grey’s Anatomy in 2010 during season 6 of the show — 10 seasons before Chambers surprised viewers by announcing his own exit. The actress left the show on a contentious note, after a public falling out with showrunner Shonda Rhimes. After being nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2007 for her performance on the show, Heigl withdrew her name.
She said at the time, “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.”
Speaking with Howard Stern after the fact in 2016, the Washington, D.C., native revealed that she later apologized to Rhimes, 51, for her comments, noting that she “was really embarrassed.” The producer later named Heigl in a 2010 interview with The Hollywood Reporter about difficult actors to work with on set.
“There are no Heigls in this situation,” she said at the time, adding that she adopted a “no a–holes policy” on set.
