Defamer reports that a Hollywood Reporter interview was altered to remove a negative reference to Katherine Heigl, the famed actress from those Nyquil commercials. The interview with Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, originally quoted Rhimes describing a dark time during which Katherine Heigl had refused to submit herself for the Emmys because she didn’t like the writing for her Grey’s Anatomy character. Less than two hours after the story was published, Heigl disappeared from the headline and the story.
How did Heigl manage this feat? Did she whisper a wish to the clouds? Did she close her eyes and scrunch her nose and tap her heels and Matilda the words out of the Internet? What is the source of her power? We do not know.
At 8:30 a.m. PST, the interview bore this headline: “Grey’s Anatomy’s Shonda Rhimes on Possible Spinoff, Creative PTSD, and Katherine Heigl Aftermath (Q&A).” Less than two hours later, the headline was altered: “Grey’s Anatomy’s Shonda Rhimes on Possible Spinoff, Creative PTSD, Cast Departures.” The original portion about Heigl details her manipulation and disparagement of her co-workers, information we have never heard before, not even once:
Was there ever a time when you felt like Grey’s wasn’t a family? How did you handle that?
Absolutely. Creatively, that was a really difficult time, and it was hard for me to write the show. Seasons four and five were difficult because I was in a dark place [after Katherine Heigl said she had insufficient material and declined to submit herself for the Emmys]. In the beginning, it felt like such a magical place, and to discover that everyone isn’t who you thought they were is very unfortunate.
And after? Oh, don’t worry — someone else takes the blame for the “dark place.” Let’s just throw in a couple co-workers, shall we? Here’s how the story read at 10:00 a.m., EST:
Was there ever a time when you felt like Grey’s wasn’t a family? How did you handle that?
Absolutely. Creatively, that was a really difficult time, and it was hard for me to write the show. Seasons four and five were difficult because I was in a dark place after the press frenzy that descended on us because of the [Isaiah Washington and T.R. Knight situation and critical backlash to the stories.]. In the beginning, it felt like such a magical place, and to discover that everyone isn’t who you thought they were is very unfortunate.
Removing information from the Internet, a magical power featured in Katherine Heigl’s upcoming rom-com about tech nerds in love, Control-Alt-Delete.
Update: The Hollywood Reporter story now has an editor’s note by the quote in question: “An initial version of this story incorrectly assumed Rhimes was referencing Katherine Heigl.” THR executive editor Matthew Belloni told Defamer there was “No Katherine Heigl pressure, just a misunderstanding.”
