Katherine Heigl’s career is not going so well. She’s now doing kitty litter commercials. Let’s see how we got here? First, she was an award-winning TV actress. Then she made the jump to films and some people thought she was going to be the next rom-com princess. Then Heigl basically alienated everyone she ever worked with. She was rude, unpleasant and unprofessional, and even the trade papers were writing pieces about how awful she is to work with, and how her momager makes her even worse. Heigl tried to make the movie-star thing happen for years, then she finally deigned to come back to TV, only to see her big comeback role (on a budget Homeland-esque network show) canceled quickly.
So now Heigl is hawking Cat’s Pride Fresh & Light Ultimate Care kitty litter. To be absolutely fair to Heigl, she can and does say that she’s doing these commercials because Cat’s Pride is donating a portion of the profits to her animal charity, The Jason Debus Heigl Foundation. But the one thing we know for sure about Heigl and her momager is that they only show up if they’re getting a payday too. This isn’t even Heigl’s first foray into “seriously, she’s doing commercials now?” She was also in a ZzzQuil commercial a few years ago. I guess money is tight? Here are the kitty little commercials:
Some will say that the schadenfreude is misplaced, or something something sexism. While I do think that there was an element of sexism in some of the Heigl stories – like, how dare this young woman be so “mouthy”? – at the end of the day, she alienated so many people in the industry and general public, it feels like we’ve earned our schadenfreude. And guess what? When Shonda Rhimes calls you an a—hole, chances are pretty good that you are, in fact, an a—hole. When Shonda was creating Scandal, she told THR that after working with Katherine Heigl, she developed a “no a—holes policy” and that on Scandal, “There are no Heigls in this situation… I don’t put up with bullshi–t or nasty people. I don’t have time for it.” I guess the Cat’s Pride kitty litter people did have time for it.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Hahahahaha! That is all.
I understand she is doing this for money for her animal charity. she is quite generous and has sponsored many animals for other charities as well.
Well, she did burn a lot of bridges no?
a list male stars do commercials in other countries for companies with immoral business aspirations (nestle). lots of stars sing for dictators for cash. lots of stars tweet things for money for products they might never use. she may or may not be nice but i can’t shade her for this.
Amen and thank you.
I’m not a fan of hers. But this is true, many stars do commercials.
But not commercials for cat shit though.
I couldn’t help it, it’s funny and I love cats.
It is pretty funny.
Exactly. Nicole Kidman does commercials for car insurance with puppet meerkats (god I hate them!) over here. Kevin Bacon does adverts for a phone network. Al Pacino shills for Sky.
A cheque is a cheque and at least it’s going towards her charity.
Yeah true. But it’s still kinda funny.
Yes other actors do commercials in foreign countries but I believe it’s written in their contracts that these commercials can never air in the US. I read a long story about this practice a few years ago. Actors believe it cheapens their brand if those commercials are aired here. They don’t care about overseas.
However, in this instance, it shows how her career projectory has fallen. She was an Emmy awarded actress. She was also, at one time, the second coming of Julia Roberts.
It’s really an advisory of what not do to with your career. Being an ass—- is one of them. A lot of actors have been banned too — where’s Alex Pettyfer now?
a lot of celebrities now, proudly, do commercials here. Those Matthew McConaughey Cadillac commercials are on the air constantly – frankly, I liked him better as a naked bongo playing stoner that a douchey rich Caddy owner. You have all the cosmetic ads and, dear lord, those Old Navy ads with big stars. At least in the Elizabeth Banks ON ad she isn’t paying a mean character – I never found the humor in the Amy Poehler or Julia Louis-Dreyfus ones. Speaking of Elizabeth Banks, she’s in loads of ads now
I was just going to say this. Mila Kunis does Jim Beam commercials and I just saw Benecio Del Toro in a Heineken commercial.
That’s alcohol which is on a different level than liter for your cat to crap in.
P. Diddy. Bruce WIllis, David Beckham, Clive Owens and Leonardo DiCaprio have all done commercials or advertisement for liquor.
And don’t forget George Clooney’s and Danny DeVito coffee commercial.
A lot of stars do commercials for perfume or cosmetics, for cars, alcohol, etc. But kitty litter?
Um… I would say shilling kitty litter is much nobler than shilling alcohol.
Kitty litter makes it feasible for cats to live with their pet humans in apartments and other situations where kitty can’t go outside safely, enabling kitty to avoid being snuffed out as a toddler due to more cats than available pet humans. Alcohol, on the other hand, is involved in half the traffic fatalities in many places as well as being a drain on the health care system (the cost of alcohol abuse outstrips the social costs of all other recreational drugs combined). Just sayin’.
The difference is that Heigle has virtually no other work to speak of.
I thought that was Antonio Banderas?
Do i find actors doing commercials ridiculous? sure, but i don’t care. What i find scandalous is as Lisa said:
“for companies with immoral business aspirations (nestle). lots of stars sing for dictators for cash.”
And i was personaly thinking about that. I come from a country which was not so long ago a dictactorship. I’ve lived there during that period. So i will never condone or forgive people like for eg Hilary swank who for some bucks gush about a bloody dictactor.
I’m still doing nightmares about that period.
We’ve seen celebs do adult diaper commericals. Are those more prestigious?
Shonda isnt a sweetheart either and I’m sure someone would call her an a**hole for whatever reason. Still don’t mind Kat bc she doesn’t have a filter and you know exactly how she feels about whatever. I think she is beautiful, and her looks make people assume she’s sweet as a pitcher of southern tea, so when she’s blunt people get caught off guard and don’t like it. Should she have alienated Hollywood?nope. But also don’t know what her life experience was to form her opinions that made her an A hole. Some people aren’t made for Hollywood’s politics.
Thanks, cause watching Harry with those kids had me wanting to cry. This made me giggle.
Oh man, I literally JUST saw this ad on TV and came here to check if CB was covering it. toooooo funny. You can kind of tell in the commercial she hates herself.
I just saw this commercial yesterday too. I couldn’t believe it was her at first. But, I can’t shade her for it. A paycheck is a paycheck.
I did too. I knew as soon as I saw the commercial that CB would have something to say about it
That Shonda quote should be on everyone’s ceiling,you sleep and wake up with that quote.
Well, Kevin Costner does commercials for tuna fish, so I guess a lot of celebs do degrating stuff to get a paycheck. Heigl really screwd up, but I actually like this commercial. (Because I love cats, i guess)
Tuna fish is degrading?
Wow. This really highlights (for me, anyway) how fickle the media industry is. I mean, sure, she pissed people off, but the reason she fell from grace so quickly/epicly is because she’s so replaceable. Attractive, reasonably talented blonde lady? There are 1,000’s out there. It really is about getting lucky enough to land something that makes you a name. That is the only thing that helps you stand out.
I remember Alexander Skarsgard saying something about that in an interview. He, despite being a big deal back in Sweden, said when he auditioned in Hollywood, he was still #475 out of a 1000 person line up, and everyone looked just like him.
Moral of the story- don’t be a dick. Ever. There is always someone just like you to take your place.
The reason she fell from grace so quickly was because people wouldn’t work with her – she and her mom were THAT unpleasant.
For a male equivalence, see Pettyfer, Alex.
Pettyfer is the real case study is career sabotage. At least Heigl did have a huge hit TV show and some massive movies before her crash so you can see how this might warp your perception of your importance. It’s not right, but at least I can see a basis.
Pettyfer based his arrogance on?….
It’s mystifying!
For reasons I don’t remember I ended up looking at Pettyfer’s instagram the other day. He seems very happily in love with himself.
I am totally fascinated by how someone could sabotage themselves as seriously as Pettyfer.
Her fall was pretty epic. She went from movies and a top show, to doing ZzzQuil and cat litter commercials.
What Bridget said.
I’ll add that her films flopped AND she was alienating people in the industry. No one to give her second, third, fourth chances!
I just saw this commercial the other day and thought wow, is that katherine Heigl in a kitty litter commercial?! How the mighty haven fallen. This is why you don’t go running around treating people like crap. And yes, while im sure there was some sexism involved early on, she really did come across as a pompous ass who thought she was above everyone. No one likes that attitude on anyone. She needs to learn some humility.
What’s the saying? The a$$es you kick on the way up, may be the exact a$$es you have to kiss on the way down.
Heigel did this to herself. I don’t think it’s sexism because male actors receive the same treatment for acting like their shit don’t stink. Alex Pettyfer comes to mind…
LOLing at stop touching me!
I really do like her as an actress for some reason. This makes me sad.
Me too.
I LOVED her in Grey’s. I realated so much to Izzie and the episode where Danny dies is still my favorite of the show ever.
Came here to say that I LOVE the word “schadenfreude”, that is all.
*rich person at the country club chuckles* @ This
I don’t believe in using clay-based litter with my cats, but no judgment to those that do.
I like to try different natural-based litters and my favorite so far is the stuff made from crushed walnuts. Right now, the cats are using a recycled paper litter that they seem to like. However, it gets kind of gross to scoop (think soggy newspapers) so I probably won’t stick with it. I love the wheat-based stuff but it makes too much of a mess–flies all over the place.
Oh wait–was I supposed to say something about the blonde lady? Sorry.
CAT TALK. Who’s up for it?
I tried the newspaper litter and Feline Pine at one time. The cat was not impressed by either one. My cat is set in her ways and does not like change.
I totally understand. Mine have only ever know natural litter so they’re used to it.
It gets rough in the summer time because the stank is masked as well as it is with clay but I just sprinkle some baking soda in there to help with the scent.
LOL! Kitten how many do kitties do you have. Would love to see them…
Funny you should ask. I have an IG for my two Scottish Folds that’s been largely neglected but I recently added a few new pics:
https://www.instagram.com/picklezthescottishfold/
I clicked because kitties! and if that’s you in the one pic, then wow, you’re very pretty 🙂 the kitties are gorgeous too.
@kitten OMG your kitties are soooo cute! And excuse me is that you in the picture? Gorgeous!
Awww such cuties Kitten!
From a fellow cat owner 🙂
Aw thanks guys! Yeah that’s me…I look better with makeup lol.
But thank you guys! You made my day 😀
Adorable kitties and yowza, Kitten, you are so beautiful! Don’t know about makeup, but you look fantastic just like that.
Awwwww! Gorgeous kitties, Kitten (and that includes you). Now you have a fan club. Have a great weekend with your little ones.
Gorgeous cats, makes me miss my sister’s black cat.
Adorable! All of you.
Now I wants a new kitten. I lost mine 3 years ago and haven’t had the heart to get another. Your all grey though? Love, love, love.
You guys are too generous with the compliments but thank you so much!
Your cats are adorable. Which one is Picklez and what is the name of the other one? Is your avatar another kitty of yours?
Picklez is my grey boy and Zizou is my striped girl kitty.
Z is my angel and Pick is my needy, bratty little monster 😉
No my avatar is of a kitty that I tried to adopt from a local shelter..she was SUCH a beauty but alas, someone got to her before me 🙁
I have 5 cats, and when I moved I downsized severely. I now use one litter pan for all 5 cats. It’s a rubbermaid tote, 3.5 feet long by 2.5 feet wide and 14 inches deep. It holds 40lbs of litter. I clean it 3-4 times a day, and every 5 days toss the litter and replace it. I’d also prefer they use the pan rather than go outside because the yard is small. It’s so much easier to clean dog poop out of the yard than partially buried cat poop.
Whoa 40 lbs of litter? Holy crap (pun intended!).
Also, you are so much better about clearing and cleaning your litter box. I always forget to scoop as often as I should and I do a thorough cleaning of the box like, once a month.
I’m a bad kitty mom!
I don’t want them getting sick, so I keep it clean to help prevent vet bills I just can’t afford. I’ve spent $1300 in the last 4 months on 2 cats. I am, as they say, not amused. However, I would sell my truck and my first born for them. Also, according to the local SPCA, you are supposed to have a litter pan for each cat. Technically (they tell me) they can seize my pets if I only have one litter box. I’m hoping clean and large covers it.
I have a question about your cats, Kitten. Do their ears go back when they are angry like other cats, or do they just flatten against their head?
@Lady D-I hear ya. I’ve spent about $3000 on mine in the past two years. Crazy. I wouldn’t get a boy kitty again I don’t think. They’re so fragile with the UTI issues, etc.
My kitty’s ears are naturally flat like that. It’s a genetic mutation and every Scottish Fold is born with regular, straight kitty ears. Some fold down and some don’t.
@Lady D they can really seize your cats for only having one, large, well-cleaned litterbox? Dear Lord that’s ridiculous, especially when you consider how many people do not vet their cats at all, usually using the excuse “they’re indoor cats, they can’t get sick” or “they’ve never been sick so they don’t need to go to the vet” (often followed with how the cat died “suddenly & unexpectedly”).
They say they can. Forcing my clan to use one litter box is mistreating them in their eyes. They also tell me that if I feed a stray once, I am now considered the owner of said stray and responsible for it. I replied that I would like to make up laws too. I personally, cannot stand my local SPCA. I adore the Humane Society, and the Animal Care Society and support both of them. The SPCA also practices euthanasia and the others don’t.
I like World’s Best, the versions with no added scent. Based on corn, so if you have a litter eater then it won’t be such a problem as clay. Clumps very well also and really lasts longer than others. I tried the newspaper based one but the cats ignored it and voted for the corn stuff.
But if you have a cat recovering from surgery who needs soft and safe litter- rolled oats (not the instant) work very well (the other option was shredded newspapers but I have trouble with ink volatiles). Both the patient and her healthy feline companion liked it instantly. The patient enjoyed lying in it, as sick kitties tend to do. Once after one in a series of operations she disappeared all day into the hooded litter box filled with clean oats (I even fed her in there!) but when she came out she was bouncing around like normal. The restorative power of a comfy litter box has few equals.
Wow! They really are your babies aren’t they? Lucky kitties to be so spoiled. I’m sure they adore you for it.
There used to be a great flushable litter that my cats liked (and I LOVED it: no more smelly bundles to take out!). I think it was called “Scoop Away”. I don’t think they still manufacture it, but boy, did it make a bad job so much better! lol
The natural-based litter I use is flushable. I don’t always flush it…if it’s close to trash day I just throw it out.
Your cats are adorable thanks you for sharing your babies with us. I have a ragdoll mix that is a tu
Ugh my reply was kicked off halfway sorry….
My rag doll mix is a tuxie medium haired 9 month old and I use Worlds Best with her and like it. I used to use pine pellets from a feed store when I had more and scooped daily but dumped it out every week then lined up the pans in my driveway and hosed them down.
I used to have 2 Himalayans and a Bengal I got from rescues but they died last year basically from old age. I miss them terribly every single day.
Mine are indoor only but I leash trained my Bengal and am progressing so far so good with my new baby. My dog misses her former walking companion and gets over excited when the cat comes to the point I have to stop to calm her down.
Your cats are lucky to have a good home with you and btw you look great without makeup so hush yourself. 🙂
RAGDOLLS! ❤️❤️ they are soo sweet-looking. Bengals are gorgeous creatures that many people don’t seem equipped to handle. It’s sad how often I hear stories of them ending up in shelters because irresponsible owners didn’t research the breed before they decided to buy them. They’re big, energetic kitties, but beautiful.
Kitty pics, yay! Plus I got to see what you look like. For some reason I thought you were blond but your eyes look like I expect, warm and direct. And now I have a face to go with a name. Also, your kitties are adorable. I think I’m in love with the striped one.
Yes Ragdolls are VERY sweet. She flops all over the place and loves to be carried cradle style and have a nice chat. She knows when it’s bedtime and sits by my door and meows until I come so she can sleep with me. My dog even responds and off to bed we go.
She even greets us at the door which my Bengal used to do. Bittersweet in a way but I do love it.
You are right about Bengals, so many people love the wildness but aren’t equipped to deal with it. I had very tall cat trees custom made for her and an outdoor enclosure so she could play outside and relax in the sun. I gave her rare cooked meat cubes for treats and she loved walks. She also loved to groom the other cats and police the litter box and cover up the others waste to her own liking. She was sweet and affectionate but high energy and smart. She opened doors and the treat cabinet so I had to lock it. But I always felt like she was my little lioness. And she loved the kids and they played all kinds of games.
When life settles I may add to my pet family again. 🙂
Just started following you on Instagram too. Getting my cat fix in, because I’m not allowed to get any more pets.
OMG isn’t she too young to be doing that to her face? She doesn’t even look like herself. Katie, it’s not your face, it’s your attitude. That’s why people stopped hiring you. If she was raking it in at the box office, Hollywood would be a bit more forgiving over her stunts. However, she was nasty to the help and badmouthed all the people who hired her. With diminishing returns at the box office, that doesn’t equal more jobs.
In this instance, I don’t think it’s sexist that she ended up like this. She upset a lot of powerful Hollywood players (Sonda, Judd Apatow etc). You reap what you sow. Never torch the bridges.
I know! She looks like Brandi Glanville now.
She needs to learn the difference between an inside voice and an outside voice. Being outspoken is one thing, but when it starts to threaten your career, you really need to reevaluate. Plus, I think having your mother be your manager is a bad idea as it’s soooo hard for some parents to be objective about their own kids at the best of times, never mind when she’s in the public eye and lots of money is at stake.
While I am 100% not sad and yes, quite enjoying my schadenfreude of the Heigl’s fall from grace, I’m starting to think Shonda has adopted a little of the Heigl in herself.
I mean, Rhimes wields her axe against actors she no longer has any use for, or whom she disapproves of in their private life (I’m looking at you Dempsey). Personally, I tend to think the common denominator might be Rhimes herself. The way the Scandal actors, for example, fawn all over her as if she’s the second coming it makes me think they’ve seen what happens to those that don’t kiss the ring. None of those actors can possibly think the storylines they’ve been given the past 2 years make any sort of sense at all, yet they never stop saying how great she is, or how happy they are to work there. It’s almost “me thinks thou doth protest too much.”
But IDK. Maybe Rhimes is never an entitled diva herself.
Nah I think Shonda Rimes is a tyrant (there are too many stories from all her shows that make the rumour impossible to dismiss), BUT she’s the creator and show-runner so she’s the boss. As long as she’s not abusing her employees, they have to put up and shut up. Heigl acted like she was above everyone, including Shonda, and got burned for it. I feel like she almost forced Rimes’ hand to fire her because what kind of boss would allow that sort of behaviour?
I always thought the Grey’s thing was on Shonda. She didn’t want to fire that homophobic piece of garbage Isiah Washington, but she had to because Heigl wouldn’t let her get away with keeping him on. Then she punished Heigl by giving her unbelievably awful storylines (shooting her own show in foot in the process). But Heigl’s a monster for acknowledging her role had turned to crap?
Let’s not forget the controversy surrounding T.R Knights departure from the show.
I wish Katherine well and and am always disturbed by the glee with which women love her downfall still all these years later and want her to fail, yet the men skate by who have made mistakes in their career, like Christian Bale on tape cursing and yelling at a crew member on set and then cursing and yelling at the director about it. It was awful and demeaning.
I think Katherine is talented and would hate to see her career completely ruined all these years later. I guess I believe in second chances as time goes on if someone is talented.
But the big difference is that Bale’s episode appears to be a one-off, and Heigl’s issues were repeated, constant attitude problems. She probably woudn’t have fallen from grace the same was if she wasn’t so unpleasant that people literally refused to work with her a second time.
Exactly! Christian Bale got in it with David Russell because Russell was picking on Amy Adams. Per the Sony leaks it was daily and really bad apparently. Bale finally got pissed off enough to defend her. I don’t call that a dick move.
The crew member thing was a one off.
Katharine Heigel has been nasty since her WB days. That’s a lot of years to burn bridges.
And according to some reports that crew member had screwed up the shot they were doing a couple times. So if that’s the case Bale’s outburst is almost justified.
Didnt her get in a big todo with his mom and sister,too?
Bale also had that incident in a hotel room where he yelled at his mother and sister. Plus numerous cheating rumours.
Yeah, the mom and sister who were basically trying to extort him?
@Bridget
Lol, AND they give almost yearly interviews with tabloids wondering why he doesn’t speak to them. They gave one, I remember, right after he won his Oscar.
I agree with the comments about her deserving a second chance. She did make mistakes but the take down of her for it has been vicious. Perhaps it is hard to see someone reach the top and then perhaps think it will last forever. Despite all we hear, perhaps it is hard to imagine the pressure someone is under in these situations. Everyone handles stress differently…and despite what Shonda Rhimes says about her…she also fired Patrick Dempsey years later. So who is the true diva here?
Way off the mark there! Bale made one mistake he apologized for and otherwise it’s been shown that cast, crew, and directors love working with him. Lots of repeat business. Not remotely comparable.
One of the famous stories about Heigl is why the leading men from her last few movies were all lesser known. Simple. No one wanted to work with her twice. If she had not alienated everyone she worked with then after a few bombs she would have had collaborators who could have helped her along in some strong supporting roles. Instead? Nothing. Some of her treatment sexist? Sure. But for the most part she and/or her mother, made their bed.
I’ll see your Christian Bale (and everyone else, very doubtful it was a one-time deal) and raise you Charlie Sheen, Shia LaBeouf, Alec Bladwin, David O. Russell,
For every Lindsay Lohan or Shannen Doherty, there are a hundred men who do/say whatever they want with little or no consequences.
Except Shia is now a head case and hasn’t been in a viable movie in years. There’s already talks that he may be nixed for the upcoming Indiana Jones movie.
Charlie Sheen- well how did he end up now?
What’s Alec Baldwin doing?
David O Russell will get his soon. It hadn’t happened yet because he was making award winning box office draw movies. However Joy flopped so it may be the beginning to the end.
Everyone eventually gets their day.
Doherty was fired because she was late or didn’t show up on the set (90210). That costs a lot of $$$ in production costs. Lohan had the same issue. I remember the producers openly wrote a letter about this (Georgia Rules). Showing up intoxicated is another big no no. Yeah Doherty wasn’t nice but what ultimately led to her dismissal was she was not professional (she didn’t show up numerous times!). Aaron Spelling already gave her another chance with Charmed but he had to let her go when she got into me or her thing with Alyssa Milano. Guess what? They picked the more pleasant coworker to stick around.
Hmmm, I’ll give you Alec Baldwin. And I still maintain Bale is nowhere in this group; one issue ever reported (as opposed to the multiple stories on say, Sean Penn).
But Shia? His career has gone bye bye. Sheen too, although it took much too long. Jury’s out on Russell if his movies continue to underperform. Also Mickey Rourke is a massive cautionary tale. Alex Pettyfer doomed himself before he started. David Caruso blew it and had to humble himself to even get a CSI show.
The common denominator is make and keep friends. If you are making money for others you can do and say whatever you want. Once that stops, the real test begins.
Alec Baldwin may be awful in life, but he is very professional and really nice to the crew when he’s working.
Also, Lindsay Lohan was given a million chances because she was actually talented at one point.
How about Bruce Willis? Russell Crow? Ok fine, I fold!
I don’t really think Heigl did anything that would be considered nearly as bad as yelling at coworkers or making them cry, showing up to work drunk, beating up paparazzi, or being particularly unprofessional on set.
All she did was leave a hit show to pursue a movie career and spend more time with her family. Let’s not act like Shonda isn’t a bit biased because she lost one of Grey’s biggest draws.
And she called one of her movies sexist because it “paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys.” Which is painfully true.
Neither of these actions would have affected the careers of any of the actors I mentioned before, but I’m done defending her.
@GinaS
The problem was that she and her mother (I think the problem was more of her mother too–refusing not work without her) alienated everyone she worked with. No one would work with her again. On Grey’s–she whined about the long hours…but didn’t mention that Shonda/the producers arranged those hours specifically for her to be able to do Grey’s AND work on films. They didn’t have to do that.
Here’s her THR article, and the problems they specifically said about working with her: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/katherine-heigl-knocked-up-nyquil-625405
Calling a movie sexist i.e. Knocked Up. Yea. It probably was/is (I’ve never seen it). But she chose to work on it/do the movie. Anne Hathaway declined the role, and say why. That was it. Is it really a good idea to call out a film YOU chose to do, either while promoting it or right after it came out? No. It’s unprofessional.
Read her Variety Star Market reports. It paints a picture. When it came down to it, she (and her mother) were not worth it. That’s it. That’s what happens. People like Alec Baldwin, for example, don’t get fired because while they are assholes and homophobic in real life, they are consummate professionals. Alec doesn’t pull any of his toddler shit while he’s working. Read the archives about all that BS with Alec and Shia.
Personally, I don’t really care, because I don’t find her all that good of an actress, although I do think she is a multi-faceted person i.e. horrible to work with, but a great wife/partner, mother, and caring person.
@GinaS: actually Heigl and her mom are famous for yelling and berating people for every little thing that goes wrong. Apparently the mom is far worse than Heigl herself – she’s well known for swearing at people and yelling about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. To the point where no one wants to work with them a second time. Like, at all. That was what really killed Heigl’s career, not any public comments; people found her so unpleasant they refused to work with her.
I really dislike the shade of red lipstick that is “in” this Spring – it’s too orange and already looks dated.
This doesn’t scream has been as much as a Dancing with the Stars gig and surely pays better, but the product makes it pretty humiliating.
I agree. The only thing worse would be shilling for Tampax or something similar.
They would never hire her for DWTS because no dancer would be her partner. They would probably dump her on Tony Dovolani. So unfair because he had Kate plus 8 a few years ago. The man suffered enough!
At least DWTS can lead to a career renaissance for some people. Alfonso was given a hosting gig, Zendaya became more well known, and Gilles Marini started getting more roles.
that’s how Mario Lopez got his hosting too isn’t it?
She hasn’t alienated the industry far from it. The problem is everything she does gets attacked – this is an example of just that. The proceeds from sales are going to her charity for abused and neglected animals which is good thing. A charity she has put million of dollars into, A quick search reveals she just shot a new movie for Warner Bros and a new pilot for a CBS legal drama, written and produced by the ex-head writers of Grey’s who she supposedly alienated. Hmm. I think this has everything to do with sexism.
So true.
And nice to see she’s doing something for abused animals with this commercial and part of the proceeds. She’s an animal lover and crusader for them in many capacities. But, hey, lets all revel in the fact she did a kitty litter commercial.
She felt a call to adoption because of her adopted sister. She adopted two children, one from a foreign country in an orphanage who was special needs at the time, even though mild, makes her harder to find adoptive parents. And their other child is a child they fostered and adopted domestically.
She is the biggest breadwinner in her family moneywise and so feels that pressure.
She seems to do a lot of nice and caring things in her personal life, it’s odd she has such a hard time getting along with people in a professional manner. But I can believe she and her mother are difficult to work with.
If she had nothing else going on and did this commercial, it would be the sign of a huge downfall, but if she has other work and is doing this for her charity, I don’t think it’s that big a deal.
I once checked out her charity’s tax information. I expected to find things to call out, but really didn’t see anything suggesting they don’t use the money wisely. Therefore, no shade from me regarding the kitty litter ads.
Moral of the story: don’t be such an a-hole to people.
I saw this commercial this morning while watching Morning Joe and was hoping you would write a piece, knowing you would. I thought, oh what a sad career trajectory. 27 Dresses is a cute movie and one I can watch over again (I don’t know why but I love James Marzicaponiecupcakewhateverhislastnameis). She really could have had a better career, but yeah, her mom and her tude and her mom’s tude got in the way.
love me some James Marzicaponiecupcakewhateverhislastnameis also. I cannot help it, he is my JAM.
You are cracking me up right now, Rhiley. Thank you!!
Hmm, let’s see . . . “not torpedoing my once-promising career by being a raging douche cannon whose every coworker wants to stab in the face,” versus “slumming it with paycheck work shilling the house pet equivalent of toilet paper.”
That’s a tough one.
Shes not alone. Here is a list of actors, who do commercials in Japan.
Brad Pitt for Roots.
Ben Stiller for Kirin Chu-Hi.
Keanu Reeves for Suntory Reserve.
Arnold Schwarzenegger for V&V.
Natalie Portman for Lux.
Sylvester Stallone for Bayern.
.
And doesntMacCoughney or whatever his name do some lame ass car commercial (is it for Lincohn, like the lindoln lawyer) in the US. He has an oscar and an emmy, no?
Eva Longoria makes commercials for cat food that are shown here in Sweden.
A kitty litter commercial is NOT on the same level as other stuff. That is like doing a commercial for Depends (no offense to Depends, lol)
Karma is a bitch. What you put out will come back and she must have put out a whole stank of kitty poo-poo
Lisa Rinna claimed the Depends commercial was her biggest payday.
7 figures. And part of it was for charity too.
What happened to the feminism on this site? Why is every one laughing about a woman doing a cat litter commercial? Kaley Cuoco did Priceline commercials. Where is the laughter toward her?
I don’t know is feminism a blanket approval of all women? Even those who were nasty to others? Sorry I look at the actions of the person – not their gender. Blanket approval is something TAylor Swift advocates. Karma is gender blind.
As someone stated Priceline and kitty litter are two different products. She is literally shilling something for cat $hit. Considering how she burned and torched her professional bridges and endlessly denigrated another actor in order to further her career (cough cough, Isiah Washington), people are smirking over the downfall of someone who thinks her $hit doesn’t smell. Yes what IW did wasn’t good either but Katie talked about it 24/7 to the news outlets even after the parties involved were not talking. How she badmouthed the Grey’s production for increasing her work hours in order to accommodate her movie schedule (that was not mentioned by her) was not good either. Those were several instances that come to mind. There’s a whole bucket full of her actions. Google it.
Katie was not a team player and she pretty much made everyone miserable. People are smirking at her comeuppance. It would be the same if it happened to a man (Mel Gibson, IW). Gender has nothing to do about being a decent human being.
You are spot on. Her reputation was so bad that she has basically made enemies of all the people she worked with. I remember seeing Seth Rogan talking about her on a talk show basically saying he had no idea what her problem was after she bad mouthed Knocked Up. It was her breakout role and instead of being thankful for having an opportunity to work with A listers on a sleeper hit, she talked smack. Then she became known on Grey’s set as a nightmare, not only for Shonda but the others involved on the show weren’t sad to see the back of her.
She made so many enemies that she could no longer work with the top level filmmakers so her films deteriorated in quality and flopped. To get to this level of jerkiness it takes consistent and prolonged behavior before you sink this low.
It’s not about the commercial so much as it’s the commercial and the lack of career traction that was there for the taking if not for her nastiness.
Sexism is a very tiny part of her downfall. It’s one thing to be outspoken and difficult when you have become a solid investment and can open a film strongly. Quite another story when you are beyond the normal levels of pain in the butt with nothing to back it up.
Julia Roberts backed hers up with big box office but even she never reached Heigel levels and that’s saying something.
Her doing this commercial is no different than other celebs fronting for other products. I guess now there is an hierarchy for it. We see celebrities in commercials all the time. So I guess they all need the money
A lot of people cry sexism when it comes to Heigl but tbh, I think she was given a million chances. Even after the stories about her behavior came out, she was still releasing movies and landed a leading role on TV. I think a big part of what sabotaged her was the roles she was playing. She was playing naive blondes in saccharine rom-coms but everyone knew who she was in real life.
Guys can be douches in the industry once they became powerful and important enough to sustain it. B-list actors are all replaceable. You must kiss asses and be liked by everyone, because if you’re not, another actor just as thirsty, pretty and talented as you will.
Much ado about nothing. I like the commercials. What’s wrong with taking an ad gig? A lot of creativity goes into those small videos. They’re fun and I assume they pay well for the time required. It’s not like she’s peddling machine guns. It’s for a peaceful product essential to the cat and pet human…
Plenty of good actors, including famous ones, do commercials. Why not?
I don’t particularly care for Katherine Heigl but I don’t see what all the snark is for. It’s a commercial. Commercials pay nicely and hey dhe’s still able to work. Bedides, she’s not the only actress to turn to commercials. Julia Louis Dreyfus does numerous commercials and I’ve never seen anyone drag her for it. A lot of actors and actresses do them. It’s good money. I know she has an over inflated ego, so I’m going to go with that as being the main reason people across several celeb gossip boards are having such a go at her.
One other thought – does your disdain extend to the non-famous actors in these commercials? Are they the lowest of the low for peddling kitty litter, too? They actually came across as pretty skilled. Including the cats, of course. Should they give up the good money and national exposure because omg it’s kitty litter? Oh, the horror. Their careers will never recover.
The new show wasn’t so bad though.
I wish the industry would hate on Woody Allen as much as they do Heigl. Just sayin’.
I have no problem with a mouthy young gal supporting her kids with a kitty litter paycheck.
Samuel Jackson does commercial. nobody has a problem with it. She may or may not be the nicest person. I don’t get why so many people are so happy by her downfall; but they don’t do that with men or other men/ women that have done the same. The talk would be that they deserve a second chance. Why not her.
When you’re just that good, you get at with more. When you’re just mediocre, you aren’t worth it. Nothing to do with sexism. She just wasn’t worth it for them. Alex Pettyfer just isn’t worth it either.
I like the commercials, I think they’re funny. No shade for them whatsoever.
But I believe where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and she has a reputation for being horrible to people she works with, so I also believe her rep is likely warranted. There’s no reason why her privileged self should not treat others with kindness and dignity.
When I saw her make a big deal out of wanting to withdraw her Emmy nomination with her reasons being only to insult the writers of her show, I knew that was it. You can’t be a woman and be that ungrateful and nasty and expect to last. It turns off Hollywood and the public. Even Katharine Hepburn went through a career slump because of it and Katherine Heigl is no Katharine Hepburn. She is easily replaceable with someone who would be nice to work with. If you’re a man and a big star maybe you can get away with it for awhile, but with anyone else word gets around. She brought it on herself.
Only a few things would b worse than talking about cat shit…..douching, maxipads/ tampons, erectile dysfunction, constipation, hemmorroids…wonder which of those she will b doing next. Schadenfreude, totally.
She is helping raise money for a worthy cause and I do think she is above reproach in terms of her animal rescue causes and work in that field. I don’t think Shonda Rhimes is very classy for trash talking actors who helped make her show popular years after the fact. Yes Katherine behaved badly but we have no idea what life was like on that set, we know there was a**holery not just on Katherine’s part though and there would be no Scandal if characters like Izzy played by Heigl hadn’t grabbed the public’s heartstrings early on (I stopped watching Grey’s years ago but I do remember what a big deal it was when it first came on). I don’t think Katherine Heigl is very bright when it comes to furthering her career but I still don’t really get why people so passionately hate her. Other actors are just as badly behaved as she is and get a pass, I feel like on some level she is maybe misunderstood.
She’s a POS, who is exactly where she should have been since the beginning, the bottom of the barrel.
I just saw Katherine with her husband and kids on ET talking about her music video.She never looked happier. Good for her.
Her mother makes Pimp Momma K look like a saint. She and mom are a package deal that people got tired of working with, especially after a string a bad rom-com box office disappointments.
Seems like she’s sunk to the bottom of the barrel. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.