--- 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 title: 'State of Affairs' Star Katherine Heigl Denies That She Is Difficult image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt932995d2e55a9f99/69869bb51eebf7905a371dc3/katherine-heigl.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'I Would Never Intend to Be Difficult,' Says _State of Affairs_ Star Katherine Heigl by [Melissa Hellmann](/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 14, 2014 7:51 AM CUT  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. 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.Michael Tran—FilmMagic/Getty Images by [Melissa Hellmann](/author/melissa-hellmann/) ## Melissa Hellmann Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 14, 2014 7:51 AM CUT 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/ "undefined") 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/ "undefined"), 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/ "undefined"). 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/ "undefined") 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. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2980663/katherine-heigl-difficult-state-of-affairs-nancy-heigl-charleston-tucker/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2980663/katherine-heigl-difficult-state-of-affairs-nancy-heigl-charleston-tucker/"},"headline":"'I Would Never Intend to Be Difficult,' Says State of Affairs Star Katherine Heigl","datePublished":"2014-07-14T07:51:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:55:39.026Z","description":"Ahead of the premiere of NBC's upcoming State of Affairs, star Katherine Heigl addressed rumors that she and her executive producer mother are challenging to work with","url":"https://time.com/2980663/katherine-heigl-difficult-state-of-affairs-nancy-heigl-charleston-tucker/","keywords":["Living","feminism","Television","Rumors","entertainment","Grey's Anatomy","NPR"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt932995d2e55a9f99/69869bb51eebf7905a371dc3/katherine-heigl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Hellmann","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-hellmann/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt932995d2e55a9f99/69869bb51eebf7905a371dc3/katherine-heigl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"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.","caption":"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.","creditText":"Michael Tran—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2980663/katherine-heigl-difficult-state-of-affairs-nancy-heigl-charleston-tucker/","name":"'I Would Never Intend to Be Difficult,' Says State of Affairs Star Katherine Heigl"}}]}] ```