Josh Duhamel defends Katherine Heigl’s reputation, recalls ‘bad moments’

Josh Duhamel is defending Katherine Heigl against her “bad rap” in Hollywood, following claims she’s acted like a diva on sets.

“She’s awesome … she’s great,” the actor, who worked with Heigl in 2010’s “Life As We Know It” and 2011’s “New Years Eve,” said Sunday on Barstool Sports’ “Chicks in the Office” podcast.

“She probably said some things that she wishes she could’ve taken back, but my experience, on and off screen with her, was awesome.”

Duhamel, 50, added that he feels Heigl, 44, may have been mischaracterized due to a few isolated incidents.

“I think that’s probably what happened to Katie is that, you know, she had a couple bad moments and that’s what everybody wants to just – that’s her label now, and it’s not really fair,” the “Shotgun Wedding” star concluded.

Heigl has been accused of being “difficult” for criticizing projects she had worked on.

After starring in Judd Apatow’s box office hit “Knocked Up,” the Washington, D.C., born actress insinuated that the rom-com was sexist.

“It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys,” she told Vanity Fair in 2008.

“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? Ninety-eight percent of the time it was an amazing experience, but it was hard for me to love the movie.”

That same year, Heigl withdrew her name from the 2008 Emmys list of TV contenders for her role as Izzie Stevens in “Grey’s Anatomy,” explaining to the LA Times at the time that she did “not feel that I was given material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination.”

The move was considered a slight to creator Shonda Rhimes.

In 2014, Heigl later expressed regret over some of her decisions.

“I’ve made mistakes and unwittingly or carelessly spoken or acted but I always try to make any wrong right,” the “Ugly Truth” star said in a Q&A at the time.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t stand up for myself by drawing boundaries and asking to be treated kindly and respectfully,” she continued, “but I don’t do that with any rude or unkind intentions just with the same strength and honestly I think every one of us is entitled to.”

Then in 2016, Heigl confessed to Howard Stern that she actually ended up having to go to therapy because of her bad reputation.

“I was really struggling with it, and how not to take it all really personally, and not to feel there’s something really deeply wrong with me,” the “Firefly Lane” star previously told the radio host.

Duhamel is not the only actor to come to his co-star’s defense, though. “Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo recently praised Heigl for speaking up for herself.

“I remember Heigl said something on a talk show about the insane hours we were working — and she was 100 percent right,” the TV star, 53, said on her podcast, “Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo,” in April 2022.

“Had she said that today, she’d be a complete hero, but she’s ahead of her time. [She] made a statement about our crazy hours and, of course, let’s slam a woman and call her ungrateful.”