I think those actors, TV or film, who don’t play the game and focus on the acting should be admired, not admonished. And yes, it goes without saying that there are unwritten rules that say actors should behave a certain way and kiss a little arse for reasons X, Y and Z, but staying true to the reasons you are an actor and to yourself in general is part of the risk and reality of living in this questionable modern, progressive world we live in now. And, most important to me, it’s reflected in the roles they choose and how well they play those roles. There is, to me, nothing worse than seeing a strong actor, let alone an exceptional one, have to regurgitate words from a thoughtless and poorly written script. Plus, solid acting and good writing makes even the silliest film more entertaining simply because I’m not distracted by writing that makes no sense or acting that’s painful to watch.

“When Katherine Heigl opens her mouth, people listen. They don’t always like what they hear…. ….in a world of bland, media-trained celebs, is it such a bad thing to speak your mind?

After all, celebrities have spouted off for years, bashing everything and everyone from presidents to fellow actors to directors. But Hollywood is like high school — only meaner — and hammering the popular kids might have consequences that take years to undo.

“There’s a long tradition of actors who have disdained the Hollywood establishment and then had some retribution for it within the Hollywood establishment,” said Neal Gabler, an author and cultural critic whose books include “Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality.”

Gabler named screen legend Paul Newman as an example. Newman, now 83, shunned the movie-industry hoopla and never showed up in 1986 to accept his best-actor Academy Award for “The Color of Money,” after having been nominated seven times before.

“He didn’t live the way a star was supposed to live. There was an expectation … placed on him, and he didn’t satisfy that expectation and Hollywood took retribution,” Gabler said, citing Newman’s awards snubs. And yet, that tough-guy persona enhanced his public image as a man of integrity who lived on his own terms, Gabler said.

Heigl’s announcement spread swiftly online, where it was variously heralded, ridiculed and hashed out by a vocal mob eager to weigh in.

“First of all, she did something crazy — and that is she told the truth,” said veteran publicist Howard Bragman. “At the very least, she told her truth. … And in this town, it’s not always a great idea, because what you have to understand is television is a very collaborative industry, and what she’s essentially done is trash her writers. These are people you have to go to work with every day.”" –Associated Press article on Yahoo