‘Knocked Up’ Stars Katherine Heigl And Seth Rogen Bury The Hatchet

The feud between Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl has been ongoing for almost eight years now, but a new truce may have been established, following Rogen’s recent comments. Heigl wasn’t happy with her role in Knocked Up and spoke openly about her distaste for the character, which not only sabotaged her own career, but also angered Seth, who starred alongside Katherine in the Judd Apatow romantic comedy. Now, new remarks made by Rogen seemed to have opened the door for a peaceful resolution to this conflict with Heigl responding in kind.

Knocked Up Was An Awkward Movie For Katherine Heigl

Looking back on Knocked Up with the perspective of time and distance, Katherine may now recognize that the image of her character, Alison Scott, was as much the culmination of her own acting as it was the property of Judd Apatow, who both wrote and directed the film. Still, at the time of Knocked Up‘s release, Vulture reveals that Heigl told a very different story, boldly criticizing the way the character was written.

“[Knocked Up] paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys,” Katherine said in a 2008 Vanity Fair interview. “It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days. I’m playing such a bitch; why is she being such a killjoy? Why is this how you’re portraying women?”

Upon learning of Heigl’s comments, Seth Rogen says he felt offended and betrayed, because he had genuinely enjoyed acting with Katherine. Rogen compared the experience as playing a “s—-y version of Tom Hanks” to Heigl’s Meg Ryan, referring to such classic romantic comedies as You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. Now, after a few years have passed and Seth has watched Katherine suffer the consequences of those remarks, he has come forward anew to express warmer feelings for Heigl, who he had assumed disliked him and Apatow.

“I respect the fact that maybe she realizes it has hurt her career. And I don’t want that to have happened to her at all,” said Rogen. “Because I’ve said a thousand stupid things, and I really like her… The only people in this situation who should in any way take anything from it is me and Judd, because we’re the ones she’s talking about. And for other people to not work with her because she didn’t like her experience with us I think is crazy.”

Seth Rogen Offers An Olive Branch And Katherine Heigl Accepts

Katherine Heigl was asked to respond to Seth’s latest remarks concerning the Knocked Up controversy, and the actress seemed genuinely appreciative of the comedian’s kind words, as she responded in kind, according to an Entertainment Weekly article. Heigl shares a softer side, as she accepts the acknowledgement from Rogen and, while her response does seem heartfelt, some are already pointing out that Katherine still hasn’t apologized for her harsh criticism.

“I think he’s handled it so beautifully,” Ms. Heigl said on Wednesday.

“I feel nothing but love and respect. It was so long ago, and I just wish him so much goodness. I felt that from him, too.”

Previously, Katherine has admitted that the image of Alison Scott in Knocked Up was more her fault than anyone else’s, particularly because, as a director, Judd Apatow is known for letting actors improvise and generally allows actors to be free to explore their characters. In revealing that, Katherine says it was her own fault that the Knocked Up character comes across as being overly judgmental and controlling.

“I was like, why is that where I went with this,” remarked Ms. Heigl. “What an a–hole she is!”

[Image by Universal Pictures]