The Drama Behind Grey's Anatomy's Biggest Character Departures

In June 2008, Katherine Heigl withdrew her name from that year's Emmys race. "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination," Heigl said in a statement. "In an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention." It was a surprising move; the previous year, after she won the outstanding supporting actress Emmy, Heigl had suspended contract talks and asked for a hefty raise. Once they finally agreed on new terms, Katherine's contract was set through 2010.

Here's where it gets dicey. After that, Heigl asked to be released from her contract because she wanted to have more time to dedicate to her film career. In 2013, Ellen Pompeo recalled how that was the last straw. "Katie's problem is that she should not have renewed her contract," Pompeo explained. "She re-upped, took a big raise and then tried to get off the show. And then her movie career did not take off." Even just last year, creator Shonda Rhimes proved she's still not a fan of Heigl. In reference to the Scandal cast just last year, she said, "There are no Heigls in this situation." Yikes.