--- title: 'State of Affairs' Star Katherine Heigl Denies That She Is Difficult description: Ahead of the premiere of NBC's upcoming show "State of Affairs," star Katherine Heigl dispels rumors that she is challenging to work with canonical: https://time.com/2980663/katherine-heigl-difficult-state-of-affairs-nancy-heigl-charleston-tucker/ author: Melissa Hellmann article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-14T07:51:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:57:49.093Z og:title: 'State of Affairs' Star Katherine Heigl Denies That She Is Difficult og:description: Ahead of the premiere of NBC's upcoming show "State of Affairs," star Katherine Heigl dispels rumors that she is challenging to work with og:url: https://time.com/2980663/katherine-heigl-difficult-state-of-affairs-nancy-heigl-charleston-tucker/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt932995d2e55a9f99/69869bb51eebf7905a371dc3/katherine-heigl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2079 og:image:height: 1169 og:image:alt: Katherine Heigl arrives at NBCUniversal's 2014 Summer TCA Tour - Day 1 held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 13, 2014 in Beverly Hills, Calif. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'State of Affairs' Star Katherine Heigl Denies That She Is Difficult twitter:description: Ahead of the premiere of NBC's upcoming show "State of Affairs," star Katherine Heigl dispels rumors that she is challenging to work with twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt932995d2e55a9f99/69869bb51eebf7905a371dc3/katherine-heigl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'I Would Never Intend to Be Difficult,' Says _State of Affairs_ Star Katherine Heigl > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=9b18aba4-ccf8-4e45-a649-00317523dfb6&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Katherine Heigl Denies ‘Difficult to Work With’ Reputation [Watch (HLS stream): Katherine Heigl Denies ‘Difficult to Work With’ Reputation](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PH7tJsoR.m3u8) (1:18)  _Published 2014-07-14. Katherine Heigl shoots down rumors about her “diva” personality. The former “Grey’s Anatomy” star spoke to reporters in Beverly Hills on June 13th to promote “State of Affairs”, her new drama on NBC._ by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Jul 14, 2014 7:51 AM UTC by [Melissa Hellmann](https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Jul 14, 2014 7:51 AM UTC During a Television Critics Association panel about Katherine Heigl’s forthcoming NBC show _State of Affairs_, NPR’s Eric Deggans [asked](http://www.thewrap.com/katherine-heigl-addresses-whether-shes-difficult-after-some-difficulty/) the former _Grey’s Anatomy_ star to confirm or deny rumors that she and her mother Nancy Heigl — who is an executive producer on the show — are “difficult” to work with on the set. [According to _Variety_](http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/katherine-heigl-addresses-difficult-behavior-state-of-affairs-1201261894/), the younger Heigl replied, “I would never intend to be difficult. I don’t think my mother sees herself as being difficult. I think it’s important to everybody to conduct themselves professionally and respectfully and kindly, so if I’ve ever disappointed somebody, it was never intentional.” _State of Affairs_ features Heigl as CIA analyst Charleston Tucker, providing daily briefs to the first female President, played by Alfre Woodard. The show is scheduled to premiere in November. Heigl described the part of Tucker as an “extraordinary” role that allowed her to break out of romantic comedies and to flex “different muscles of my ability,” [the Wrap said](http://www.thewrap.com/katherine-heigl-addresses-whether-shes-difficult-after-some-difficulty/). The Wrap reports that when Heigl was asked what her mother actually did on the show, the actress replied, “She makes us cookies.” Entertainment-news reports have [speculated](http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/katherine-heigl-addresses-difficult-behavior-state-of-affairs-1201261894/) that Heigl and her mother have demanding personalities, while others have suggested that Heigl is being penalized for simply being an assertive and frank woman. ## Transcript Katherine Heigl shoots down rumors about her diva personality. The former Grey's Anatomy star spoke to reporters in Beverly Hills, California on June 13 to promote State of Affairs, her new drama on NBC. But the 35- year- old actress also took a moment to address her Hollywood reputation. I certainly don't see myself as being difficult. I would never intend to be difficult. If I ever disappointed somebody, it was never intentional. The Huffington Post included Heigl on a list of celebs who are rumored to be difficult to work with back in 2013. But a few days earlier they posted an interview with actor Patrick Wilson in which he fervently defends the actress, whom he worked with on the film North Of Hell. I had the greatest experience working with her. She showed up. Worked her tail off, super funny, super gracious, great to the cast, great to the crew, you know, and, and was a total pro. The dawn of Heigl's unfavorable reputation was her withdrawal from contending for an Emmy Award in 2008. She pulled her name from consideration and said she wasn't given the material to warrant an Emmy nomination for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens in Grey's Anatomy. She had won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for the same role the year before, but perhaps Heigl will find another chance at an Emmy nom with State of Affairs which premiers on NBC November, 27th. 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