Josh Duhamel Shares Working Experience With Katherine Heigl, Defends Her From 'Bad Rap' Narrative

Josh Duhamel is opening up about his "great" working experience with Katherine Heigl.

Duhamel recently recalled working with Heigl, 44, in the 2010 film "Life As We Know It," and the "Transformers" star had nothing but positive things to say about the "One for the Money" actress.

"Katie Heigl gets a bad rap, but she's awesome," Duhamel, 50, said on the "Chicks in the Office" podcast Monday, Us Weekly reported. "She's great."

"She probably said some things that she probably wishes she could've taken back, but my experience, on and offscreen with her, was awesome," he added.

"Life As We Know It" director Greg Berlanti had a similar take on working with the "27 Dresses" actress. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2013, he said he would work with Heigl again "in a heartbeat."

"She's an amazing actress, and her in a TV show that's a great idea and well executed would be something I would watch and would feel lucky to work on myself," he said.

Denise Di Novi, an executive producer of the same film, also said that she had a "really good" experience with Heigl, adding that the "Ugly Truth" star was "hardworking and dedicated."

Heigl gained a reputation as a "difficult" actress due to her tense words about her experience on "Grey's Anatomy."

She played Dr. Izzie Stevens in the medical drama for six seasons and won a primetime Emmy award for the role in 2007. But the following year, she withdrew herself from consideration before nominations because she didn't think the "material" given to her was worthy of the accolade.

Heigl later apologized to "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes after her comments made headlines.

Heigl once more sparked controversy when she appeared on "The Late Show With David Letterman" in 2009 and said her schedule on the ABC drama was "cruel and mean."

She exited the show in 2010 in the middle of Season 6.

She took a break from acting to focus on her family. However, the criticism against her never stopped. She admitted that it affected her mental health.

"I may have said a couple of things you didn't like, but then that escalated to 'she's ungrateful,' then that escalated to 'she's difficult,' and that escalated to 'she's unprofessional,'" Heigl recalled to The Washington Post. "What is your definition of difficult? Somebody with an opinion that you don't like? Now, I'm 42, and that s–t pisses me off."

She continued: "At the time, I was just quickly told to shut the f–k up. The more I said I was sorry, the more they wanted it. The more terrified and scared I was of doing something wrong, the more I came across like I had really done something horribly wrong."