Katherine Heigl's departure from the show was another messy situation. In 2007, she won an Emmy award for her role as Izzie Stevens, but, after the next season of the show, she refused to submit her name for Emmy consideration, saying that she didn't think she was "given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination," as reported by The New York Times. She withdrew her name, she said, "in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization." As could be expected, her comments reportedly angered network executives.
In March 2010, ABC confirmed that Heigl would be leaving Grey's Anatomy. Heigl gave a statement to Entertainment Weekly (via E! News), saying, "I am done," noting, "We just finalized our agreement. Everyone had been working really hard to find an amicable and gracious way of letting go and moving on. It's sad but it's what I wanted." Shonda Rhimes later spoke about Heigl's behavior to Oprah Winfrey (via TV Guide), stating, "On some level, it stung and on some level I was not surprised."
