Katherine Heigl: More concerned about hurt feelings than political statements

In anticipation of her new movie Knocked Up, USA Today interviewed Katherine Heigl, and -- unsurprisingly -- her part in the very public tensions on the Grey's Anatomy set and the Isaiah Washington's use of a certain f-word were brought up. Heigl says:

"To me, I wasn't making a political stand ... I was making a stand about hurting people's feelings. It's very simple in my mind. You do not actively seek to hurt other people's feelings. I don't care what their sexual orientation, race or gender. You don't do that. We are all human beings, part of the human race, and we need to be compassionate and giving and kind with one another"

Amongst all the talk of "Who can say what" Heigl brings up a perspective that cuts through the worrying about a double standard -- if you know its a hurtful word why be a jerk and continue to say it?

Heigl seems ready to move on from the incident, however, saying about Washington, "I know that he was very ashamed and that was a necessary emotion to move forward and not backward. His attitude and behavior and thought process needed to change, and the only way to do that is to be self-aware and honest. And I think he was. I have forgiven."

When the interviewer brings up the homophobic humor in Knocked Up, Heigl responds, "We shot that before (the Grey's drama). Personally, I think it is language that needs to become obsolete. I hate to be righteous about it. I would prefer not to (use it)."

This was the first time I've seen Heigl address the complaints about homophobic and sexist humor in Knocked Up. Heigl is in a tough situation: it's her first starring role in a major movie, so it's understandable that she'd want to see it do well. Perhaps she's trying to strike a middle ground by bringing up her distaste for homophobic comments and humor as she promotes her film.

I wonder, too, if her reference to how the film wrapped before the Grey's incident is an admission that she hadn't considered how hurtful the word could be until it was used against someone she knew. You can catch the trailer for the movie after the jump.