Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl spoke to USA Today about tension on set and adoption plans while promoting her new movie Knocked Up. Some excerpts:
Your Knocked Up character has a truly gruesome birthing scene. And you were in the delivery room with your older sister, Meg. That at all impact your decision to have kids of your own? "Oh, yeah. I've always planned to adopt anyway, but that definitely reinforced my want to. I'm done with the whole idea of having my own children. [It] doesn't seem like any fun. I don't think it's necessary to go through all of that."
Have you had a big, life-changing moment that caused you to grow up fast? "I feel like a totally different person at 28 than I was at 21. I don't even recognize that naive person. I grew up a lot in the last five years. My engagement (last June, after a year of dating musician Josh Kelley) was a very altering moment, going from feeling footloose and fancy-free to 'This is huge. This isn't just dating. This is my future husband.' I'm ready for something like this now."
Have you made wedding plans? "Not yet. Isn't that depressing? I think we're trying to get our acts together and try to do this sooner rather than later. But it requires so much planning and thought if you want to have the kind of wedding I want to have."
You were raised Mormon, but don't practice anymore. "I haven't since I was about 19 or 20, when I moved to L.A. and was working a lot. I couldn't find a ward I was comfortable in. It kind of petered out mostly because of that. My good friends are Mormon, some of the best people I know."
What has been the fallout of all the drama over the homophobic slur used by Isaiah Washington and you coming to the defense of T.R. Knight? "I was ultimately grateful that it opened up a dialogue. To me, I wasn't making a political stand. I was making a stand about hurting people's feelings. It's very simple in my mind. You do not actively seek to hurt other people's feelings. I don't care what their sexual orientation, race or gender. You don't do that. We are all human beings, part of the human race, and we need to be compassionate and giving and kind with one another. Enough with the Michael Richards. Enough with the Mel Gibson. Enough with this. It's disgusting. The world is still very bigoted. Go see Borat. I didn't laugh during that movie. I cried. I was horrified."
What do you think of Washington's PSA? "What PSA?"
He just shot a public service announcement for GLAAD. "Oh, he did? Oh, that was nice. (Pause.) To me, I don't live this every day the way both T.R. and Isaiah do. I think it's their journey and their burden. I don't see Isaiah that much and don't have as many scenes with him, so I don't know what he's going through personally right now. I know that he was very ashamed and that was a necessary emotion to move forward and not backward. His attitude and behavior and thought process needed to change, and the only way to do that is to be self-aware and honest."
What about your quotes in February about being contractually obligated to return to Grey's despite your unhappiness with the amount of money you were offered? "For me, that was never about me not wanting to play Izzie anymore. I want to play that character. I want to be there. So that was an unnecessary threat. I don't know why they did that."
Has it all been worked out? "No. It's sort of stagnant right now. I'm grateful the show's over [for summer] so I can have a break from it. It's been a tough year for everybody."