In Defense of ... Katherine Heigl

How do people hate Katherine Heigl? Let us count the ways.

Actually, not ALL of us hate the outspoken 'Grey's Anatomy' star. These days, it seems like you can't turn around without hearing bad press about Heigl, who's in the spotlight once again as star of the romantic comedy 'The Ugly Truth.'

But some of us happen to think Heigl's a good actress who's gotten a bad rap. Why couldn't she be the new sweetheart of rom-coms, rather than the actress everybody loves to dis? Isn't it time someone came to her defense?

So clear the courts, Your Honor. We -- the few, the proud, the non-Heigl-haters -- present five reasons the public should give Katherine Heigl a second chance. -- By Patricia Chui

1. She was right about 'Grey's Anatomy.'
Straight off the bat: Should she have dropped out of the Emmy race and criticized the 'Grey's Anatomy' writers last year? No -- it was an ill-considered move, especially given that she was still on the show.

But let's face facts. Izzie's storyline on 'Grey's' sucked that year. The George-Izzie (or "Gizzie") relationship made no sense and had us tearing our hair out in frustration; Izzie spent the whole season moping around, being disrespected by her interns and just generally acting like a terrible doctor; and the medical high point of her season was when she saved a deer's life. Pathetic! Even we wondered if producer Shonda Rhimes had it in for her. So when she said that she wasn't given the material to warrant an Emmy nomination ... well, she was really just saying out loud what we all already thought.

2. She was right about 'Knocked Up.'
No question, we heart Judd Apatow. But despite how funny and smart 'Knocked Up' was, some of us walked out of the theater scratching our heads. Why, exactly, did Alison try so hard to have a relationship with Ben? She was a hot, ambitious TV reporter with a rising career. He was an unemployed slacker whose highest aspiration was to start a website featuring naked women. (Plus, much as we love Seth Rogen, even he would admit that he's not exactly in Heigl's league.) In real life, this relationship would never happen. Yet the movie tries to make you sympathize with him, not her. After the movie came out, Heigl said she was uncomfortable with the film, calling it "a little sexist" -- and once again, she may not have been all that smart to say it, but she wasn't entirely wrong, either.

3. She's a good friend.
When 'Grey's Anatomy' star Isaiah Washington allegedly referred to co-star T.R. Knight using a homophobic slur, who came to Knight's passionate defense? Heigl. "I'm not okay with it," she told Access Hollywood, slamming Washington for his actions while the rest of the cast stayed silent. "T.R. is my best friend," she said. "I will throw down for that kid." Isn't that the kind of person you'd want in your corner?

4. When a woman's outspoken, people think she's a bitch.
Women have come a long way, baby. Yet they're still often expected to be seen, not heard; to do little more than smile, look pretty and say the right things. Particularly in Hollywood, when so many celebrities dispense boring sound bite after boring sound bite, we think it's refreshing when an actress like Heigl speaks her mind -- it sure makes for more interesting news cycles, at least. But even in this day and age, an opinionated female isn't, apparently, everyone's cup of tea.

5. People only hate her because everyone else hates her.
These things spread like wildfire. Everybody hates Celebrity A, and therefore you should hate Celebrity A, too. But why? Bad reputations can follow actors around like a cloud -- I hear she's difficult! She's lazy! She got fired! She eats puppies! -- and, once earned, they can be awfully hard to shake. No one wants to befriend the one kid everybody hates. (He's weird! He eats paste!) And that means people will stick with the crowd, believing the worst about Heigl regardless of the facts. After all, if Perez Hilton said it, it has to be true, right?

And so, Katherine Heigl: worthy of public hatred, or unfairly maligned for speaking her mind? We think we've made our case. Your Honor ... the defense rests.