Grey’s Anatomy has develop into some of the beloved and longest-running TV exhibits of all time. The present started in 2005 and simply wrapped Season 19, with over 400 episodes and counting.

Over the course of 19 seasons, Grey’s Anatomy has had so many iconic storylines, characters, and extra — it is laborious to summarize the entire legendary TV moments this present has given us.

Of course, alongside the way in which, characters and actors have departed Seattle Grace/Grey Sloan, and people have made for a number of the most impactful moments. Most just lately, Ellen Pompeo left as a series regular after taking part in Meredith Grey for the reason that pilot episode.

While Ellen hasn’t left the present fully — she nonetheless supplies the voiceover, and he or she appeared within the Season 19 finale — it was a giant change for the collection, and marked dropping the final member of the unique intern group as a collection common.

Out of the unique interns, some of the notable departures got here when Katherine Heigl left the present as Izzie Stevens in the midst of Season 6.

At the time, Katherine’s departure got here after a number of behind-the-scenes moments the place she criticized Grey’s Anatomy. Notably, Katherine stepped out of the 2008 Emmys race, which was reportedly seen as a “swipe at producers for diminishing her presence on the collection.”

Katherine’s resolution to go away that yr’s Emmys race led to folks saying she was criticizing the writers — and presumably Shonda Rhimes — and it led to a variety of hate being thrown at Katherine for years. Namely she was labeled as “tough” to work with.

Now, 13 years after Katherine’s final Grey’s Anatomy episode, she and Ellen reunited for Variety’s Actors on Actors collection the place they mentioned their time on Grey’s Anatomy collectively, and likewise every thing surrounding Katherine’s departure.

“When Izzie left…there was simply a lot occurring,” Ellen started when speaking in regards to the emotion the early Grey’s actors delivered to their performances and the way it impacted the storylines. “It’s actually laborious to point out up on set when there’s a lot…after which there wasn’t even social media. There’s a lot consideration.”

She continued, saying, “It felt like there was a variety of consideration on every thing we did. All the time. And every thing was amplified, and that added to the emotion, and someway, that made the scenes higher, and that made the present higher, and that made the present extra widespread. And then, Izzie leaves the present, and that was emotional for everyone.”

Looking again at that time in her life, Katherine defined the anxiousness she felt on the peak of her Grey’s Anatomy fame. “I used to be simply vibrating at method too excessive of a degree of tension,” she started. “For me, it is all a little bit of a blur, and it took me years to learn to cope with that, to grasp it.”

Katherine stated that interval was additionally when she felt she lacked “self-confidence.” She stated, “I might not commerce something for my 20s. I completely had no thought who I used to be and what I wished and who I used to be purported to be and who to make blissful. Just large lack of self-confidence. And then, Grey’s hit. The success of Grey’s hit, and I felt, I believe it was borrowed confidence.”

She continued, saying, “I began getting actual mouthy as a result of I did have so much to say. And there have been sure boundaries and issues that I used to be not okay with being crossed. If you can not rise up for your self on this industry, only a few folks will rise up for you. So you higher learn to, and also you higher be okay with them not liking you for it.” With Ellen including that it is a “privilege” to even get to that place as effectively.

Speaking about her Grey’s departure and a 2007 interview about Knocked Up, which additionally landed her criticism, Katherine started, “I used to be so naive. I acquired on my soapbox, and I had some issues to say, and I felt actually obsessed with these things. I felt actually strongly. I felt so strongly that I additionally acquired a megaphone out on my soapbox. There was no a part of me that imagined a foul response.”

“I felt actually justified in how I felt about it and the place I used to be coming from. I’ve spent most of my life — I believe most girls do — being in that people-pleasing mode. It’s actually disconcerting if you really feel like you could have actually displeased all people. It was not my intention to take action, however I had some issues to say, and I didn’t suppose I used to be going to get such a powerful response,” she continued.

Katherine additionally talked about how she’s usually seen as “the dangerous man” or the “villain,” and it is one thing she’s realized to cope with. With Ellen including that she did not perceive till her personal massive contract negotiation for Grey’s Anatomy and new salary landed within the news, and he or she was advised by her supervisor to be “ready to be unpopular” due to it.

Katherine stated it took years to tune out every thing that was being stated about her, saying, “I used to be in my late 20s. It took me till most likely my mid-to-late-30s to essentially get again to tuning out the entire noise and going, ‘But who’re you? Who are you with out the entire opinions of who you’re? Are you this dangerous particular person? Are you ungrateful? Are you unprofessional? Are you tough?'”

She continued, “Because I used to be confused! I believed possibly I used to be. I actually believed that model, and felt such disgrace for such a protracted time, after which needed to go, ‘Wait. Who am I listening to? I’m not even listening to myself. I do know who I’m.’ I do not want anyone to inform me who I’m.”

Looking again on Katherine’s departure, Ellen added that, on the time, Katherine was one particular person talking out about working conditions on set, and different issues that have been occurring, and he or she was nearly “forward of [her] time” as a result of now “the entire world will get to criticize every thing and inform all people to fuck off and it is okay…however when [she] did it…”

“Listen, no one likes a assured lady,” Ellen continued. “They’d quite you be a girl in search of your confidence than you really be a assured lady as a result of that makes them nervous. … Sweet, they will deal with. Strong, they cannot.”