This thing with actress Katherine Heigl has been bugging me. Do you know the story? She decided against submitting her name for Emmy consideration for best featured actress this year, and explained in an interview that “I do not feel I was given the material this season to warrant a nomination.” The producers and all those involved with Grey’s Anatomy are furious, and are clearly looking for ways for her to get out of her contract.
I couldn’t figure out what bugged me about this. First of all, I absolutely agree with her about the material she had been given on the show. I used to be an avid fan of the show, but stopped watching sometime last season for that very reason – I felt the writing had gotten really poor. And I can even see her making an argument that her material was particularly bad – I had begun to despise ”Izzy” despite liking the actress and the character very much through several seasons. And I’m all about honesty. She was asked the question, and she answered it. I felt that I should be applauding her in respect for her judgment about the material, and for her willingness to tell the truth even if it meant she would have to leave the show. Clearly she ought to leave if she is feeling that way, and wanted to leave if she was making these kinds of statements publicly.
But I found myself siding with the producers on this one. And though of course it made sense to me that they would be offended and looking to relieve her of her contract, I couldn’t figure out why my sympathies seemed to lie with them. But then I realized, the Emmy was for “Best Featured Actress”. The Emmy was NOT for “Best Writing” or “Best Material”. And though I fully understand the connection between the quality of the performance and the quality of the material, I have also seen many examples of actors rising above crappy material to deliver a stellar performance. In fact, those performances may be even MORE worthy of award. If she felt that her acting suffered for the material, that’s fair – I’ve certainly felt that way in my life. But then let’s be honest about why we aren’t worthy of an Emmy. Say, “I failed to make it work”, or “the work wasn’t good enough”. But Heigl withdrew not because she didn’t feel she deserved the Emmy, but because she wanted to make a statement about the material she was being handed on the show. It was a passive-aggressive decision involving third parties. And that’s why it seemed an unnecessary and unsavory “throwing under the bus” of the writers.
What has this got to do with relationships? This was a private conversation that went public and has destroyed a relationship. Perhaps because she felt inhibited from having this conversation straight up with the people directly involved (or because of the failure of those conversations), Heigl acted out in a way that ruins any chance for real understanding and a win-win solution without bad feelings, or at least of getting out quietly without residual public negativity. This is the price of passive-aggression for Heigl, and it may end up having resonating negative affects on her career.
Honesty is the best policy…as long as you are being honest to the appropriate parties, and as long as you are being honest to yourself about the role you are playing in any challenging situation.
Posted by randieshane 