Katherine Heigl recounts her controversial departure from Grey's Anatomy trends now

Katherine Heigl and Ellen Pompeo reflected on their days starring on Grey's Anatomy together, the show's meteoric rise to success, and a whole new generation of fans watching the show during Variety's Actors on Actors segment.

While Pompeo is only now leaving the show after 18 years, Heigl, 44, departed back in 2010 following rumors of on-set feuds and a reputation for being 'difficult' to work with. 

Addressing her controversial departure, Heigl said: 'I was so naive. I got on my soapbox and I had some things to say, and I felt really passionate about this stuff,' Katherine said. 'I felt really strongly. I felt so strongly that I also got a megaphone out on my soapbox. There was no part of me that imagined a bad reaction. 

'I felt really justified in how I felt about it and where I was coming from. I’ve spent most of my life — I think most women do — being in that people-pleasing mode. It’s really disconcerting when you feel like you have really displeased everybody. It was not my intention to do so, but I had some things to say, and I didn’t think I was going to get such a strong reaction.

'I was in my late 20s. It took me until probably my mid- to late-30s to really get back to tuning out all of the noise and going, “But who are you? Are you this bad person? Are you ungrateful? Are you unprofessional? Are you difficult?” Because I was confused! I thought maybe I was. I literally believed that version, and felt such shame for such a long time, and then had to go, “Wait. Who am I listening to? I’m not even listening to myself. I know who I am." 

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Pompeo, 53, offered: 'You were just a little early, because they came out with this thing where everybody has their own megaphone and they get a blue check. It’s called Twitter. You were just a little ahead of your time, lady.' 

Katherine also described how the 'confidence' she got from starring on the hit show led to her getting 'mouthy.' 

'Then Grey’s hit, and the success happened. I think that gave me this confidence that was a false sense of confidence. It was rooted in something that couldn’t and maybe wouldn’t always last for me. So then I started getting real mouthy, because I did have a lot to say, and there were certain boundaries and things that I was not OK with being crossed. I didn’t know how to fight that.'

But Pompeo defended Heigl and acknowledged her co-star was placed in a difficult position. 

'But also, can I mention the incredible amount of attention that you got very quickly is another thing that is like a disease in this town. Everybody gets built up, built up, built up, built up. They create this thing, and then almost wait for something to happen,' Pompeo said. 

'As an outsider looking in, I saw a lot around you that wasn’t anything to do with you, or your fault. Not many people would know how to react to that much attention, that much focus, that much pressure. Who can be the most gracious, perfect person when all that’s … Certainly, some people are capable of it. OK, Zendaya is capable of it,' Pompeo added.

Pompeo, meanwhile, is only now leaving the show after 18 years playing Meredith Gray, a character she is ready to part ways with.