In Defense of Katherine Heigl

The London Times recently ran an article about Katherine Heigl and her comments indicating that the ire directed at her by the press (especially the Internet) is the result of sexism. The article wasn’t particularly enlightening, but it did call to attention the bad rap this young actress has gotten from the media. It also made some commentary about the general condition of women in Hollywood. The closing paragraph defended Heigl, but didn’t go far enough.

While its fun and all to smack Hollywood people around (as I did with Megan Fox), it is occasionally important to do the opposite. The plight of Katherine Heigl in the media has a lot to do with her background and what is expected of actresses in today’s Hollywood cesspool. In broader terms it speaks volumes as to what the left expects from women in our society.

Full disclosure. I have two personal connections to Ms. Heigl. My first feature film starred Dalton James who co-starred with her in the film “My Father the Hero.” Dalton always spoke highly of her and suggested her for numerous roles in our film. A few years later Katherine was one of the finalists for the lead role in my second feature film. Despite great auditions and numerous, friendly chats with my producer and me, we decided that she was a bit too young to play the part. As a side note this is exactly the kind of critical thinking on my part that has lead me to make movies with giant, rubber sharks. But I digress. In my dealings with her she was nothing but fun, friendly and talented. I point this out not to impress or name drop, but to hopefully mitigate the trolls who will claim that I don’t know what I’m talking about.

Flash forward to today. Heigl is a popular movie and television star and has launched her own production company. Bloggers, tabloids, and television shows have branded her “bitchy,” “difficult,” “obnoxious,” and worst of all apparently “ungrateful.” There was a brief dust up between her and the producers and stars of “Knocked Up” after she stated that the film was “sexist.” The people behind the film (Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow) took offense and said some unflattering remarks about the actress.

If you read bile like Perez Hilton’s site (he calls her a “bitch” in almost every article), you will see tons of negative posts about Ms. Heigl. She also took some heat for complaints she made on the David Letterman show about the producers of her show “Grey’s Anatomy.” Everywhere you look, Heigl is getting slammed by the press.

In the Vanity Fair article that sparked the beef with the Apatow cult, is a little known fact, one already known to those of us who have directly interacted with her. Her family is Mormon and she possesses some very traditional values concerning sex and marriage.

Ah ha! That’s it. That’s why she’s persona non grata amongst the PR “intelligencia.” She’s a Mormon who refused to live with her boyfriend before she got married. She must be one of those evil, retarded, selfish Republicans. She must hate the gays and the blacks and want to convert all people to Christianity while embracing capitalist principles that oppress the poor.

But hold the phone. Heigl is a loyal, supportive member of SAG. She also marched with the writers during the recent writer’s strike. Gulp. And what’s this? During the whole “Grey’s Anatomy” hubbub, where one cast member made a derogatory comment about another, she publicly supported the gay guy. Gasp. And look, she smokes. She smokes more than Christopher Hitchens or Leigh Scott. Yikes. What are we to make of this?

Katherine Heigl isn’t a poster child for conservatism. Far from it. She maintains her own personal code and lives life marching to the beat of her own drummer. When asked about politics, she stated that it “wasn’t her forum” and declined to endorse a political candidate on camera.

Could it just be that Heigl pissed off the wrong people; the beloved Apatow team and their minions? Could the sycophants in the media simply be backing the man that they view to be the reincarnation of Frank Capra? Hardly. Katherine Heigl earns their scorn because she is a feminist; a vocal, powerful, successful feminist. And nothing ticks off the left more than a feminist who doesn’t fit their mold of what feminism should be.

Just ask Sarah Palin.

Feminists, by the leftist definition, are bitter, unattractive women who have been abused by the male dominated society. They are the types who cry foul at every opportunity. They are angry malcontents. I’ve linked two videos that are awesome displays of what leftist feminists should look and act like.

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Feminists shouldn’t be able to pose for Maxim. Feminists shouldn’t have happy, loving relationships with men who respect them. For the leftist, feminism is only useful as another divisive tool, a way to create another class of victim ready to be embraced by the gentle arms of Big Government. Only through the continued oppression of different groups of people can Marxism, Socialism, and Statism gain any traction.

When women achieve love, money, and power on their own, it destroys the construct that society makes it impossible for them to do so. Empowerment is a goal that must always be kept in the distance. The end zone is always moving. If you’re a Fox News anchor, Miss California, the Governor of Alaska, or an attractive actress/producer you must be slandered, silenced and stopped.

Sandra Bullock, America’s sweetheart, has also recently taken some heat from pundits and critics for her latest film. She is one of the most successful hyphenates in the industry. She is happily married to a man who is extremely popular with all of us in “flyover country.” She represents what can be done in our country through hard work and talent. She is the product of decades of struggle by great women to achieve equality and respect. She’s also about to get more bad press because she no longer fits the narrative of female victims.

There is another scary thing about people like Heigl. They demonstrate that we all don’t fit into tiny little ideological boxes. You can be religious and moral but still support gay friends, smoke, and march for labor unions. You can be a chain-smoking, scotch drinking, B-movie director who hasn’t been to church since he was 13, but passionately support the War on Terror and oppose all of the tomfoolery of the Obama administration. Long ago, the left seized on the alliance between the secular Libertarians and the Christian Right to reframe all arguments as scholarly theory vs. religious faith. In reality, it is a battle between faith in the state and faith in the individual. Once the masses figure that out, the left is screwed. They have to keep us divided into two simplistic opposing teams.

So there you have it. Katherine Heigl is a victim of her own success; personal and professional. She also represents a graying of political ideology that terrifies the demagogues. Think twice before you hate on her. If you knew her, and not the leftist projection of her, you might have a different opinion.

And Katherine, my bad, I should have cast you. If you ever want to battle aliens, dinosaurs, or giant insects you know where to find me.