'Grey's' insider calls Heigl's Emmy comments 'an ungrateful slap'

One day after Grey's Anatomy's Katherine Heigl announced that she would drop out of this year's Emmy race, because "I do not feel I was given the material this season to warrant a nomination," a key show insider contacted EW.com to express regret that the actress publicly complained about the drama. "The show bent over backwards to accommodate her film schedule, and then she criticizes the show for lack of material?" the insider said. "It's an ungrateful slap in the face to the very writers responsible for her Emmy win in the first place."

Heigl made the comments on June 12 after Gold Derby discovered the star's name was not on a list of Emmy contenders distributed by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The omission was especially bizarre considering that Heigl won last year's award for best supporting actress in a drama.

Critics jeered Heigl's performance early in the season, complaining about the romance between her character, Izzie, and George (T.R. Knight). But the actress shined in Grey's season finale when her character redeemed herself and her career at Seattle Grace.

This isn't the first time Heigl has publicly criticized the show that helped to make her a household name. Last year, the actress dropped out of salary renegotiations, reportedly because she felt the studio doesn't value her as much as it does her cohorts. ABC TV Studio fired back, insisting the Grey's actress had been offered a substantial raise. Heigl has since received a salary bump.