There's no grey area for Josh Duhamel when it comes to singing Katherine Heigl's praises.
The Shotgun Wedding actor recently reflected on his experience working with the Grey's Anatomy alum on the 2010 film Life as We Know It, refuting the narrative that followed her through the 2010s that she was "difficult" to work with.
"Katy Heigl gets a bad rap, but she's awesome," Josh said during the Jan. 30 episode of the Chicks in the Office podcast. "She's great."
He continued, "She probably said some things that she probably wishes she could've taken back but my experience, on and off screen with her, was awesome."
If you're wondering what the "some things" would be in reference to, allow us to catch you up to speed: In 2008, Katherine withdrew her name from Emmy consideration for Grey's Anatomy—despite picking up the trophy a year prior—stating at the time that she didn't feel she was "given the material" to warrant a nomination.
(She would later apologize to the show's creator Shonda Rhimes and said her statement "wasn't fair" to the show's writers).
The following year, controversy was further fueled when she candidly spoke about her "seventeen-hour workdays" on Grey's Anatomy during an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman, adding that their schedules at the time were "cruel and mean." Heigl would exit the series in 2010.
More than a decade later, she reflected on her statements and the scrutiny that ensued.
"Some of you may remember over ten years ago I was very vocal about the absurdity of the working hours crews and actors were being forced into by production," she wrote in a September 2021 Instagram post. "Even Diane Sawyer interviewed me and not so kindly informed me 'no one feels sorry for you.' I very publicly and for many, many years after, got my ass kicked for speaking up."
Noting that the backlash made her "struggle with self-confidence and self-worth," she also shared that she's even braver moving forward.
As she put it, "I speak up today and say with zero hesitation or regret."