Well, that was a nice while it lasted. News that Grey's Anatomy powerkvetchers Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight had left the show—Heigl off to various slumcom pursuits, Knight to, um—appears to have been premature.

Firmly establishing The Ellen DeGeneres Show as the place where disgruntled Grey's Anatomy actors can go to seethe about their dropped costars, Eric Dane appeared today and was promptly asked about Katherine Heigl.

When rumors broke that T.R. Knight was performing career surgery to extricate himself from Grey's Anatomy, we know some commenters thought, "Shoulda been you, Katherine Heigl." Well, guess what: now it is!

The mainstream media (led by one overzealous blogger in particular) has just now realized that stars smoke cigarettes—witness this NY Daily News trend piece today! So why should we care about this incredibly obvious fact?

Everyone's doing Top 10 Lists this time of year! About movies and TV and stuff! So I figured I should too. But just one list, that encompasses everything. Everything bad. Enjoy!

When we asked you which difficult doc on Grey's Anatomy doc was being punished with less screen time, you resoundingly guessed, "T.R. Knight" (with just one dissenter answering "Boo-urns"). Now, rumors are flying that Knight himself has reduced his screen time to zero by walking off the show entirely.

Amid its Oprah-crowning and Miley-dragging, THR's new Power 100 list of the most powerful women in entertainment yields little turnover and few surprises. But when it does, at least it makes it count. Like naming Katherine Heigl the fifth highest-paid actress in Hollywood? Surprise!

Though Grey's Anatomy has shown an interesting set of priorities this season (less lesbians, more ghost fucking), part of its topsy-turvy plotting may have to do with a star that producers are punishing with reduced screen time. E!'s Kristin Dos Campos has the blind item:

Actress Katherine Heigl celebrated with a big bash last week, but her actual birthday is today—she's 30. Colin Hanks, the actor and son of Tom Hanks, turns 31 today. Actor Billy Connolly is 67. Famed author Arundhati Roy is 47. Dan Glickman, the chairman of the MPAA and a former congressman, is 65. Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue is 68. And the infamous Linda Tripp turns 59 today.

The Frigid 50 Runs Cold. We used to look forward to Film Threat's annual Frigid 50—their "line-up of the least-powerful, least-inspiring, least-intriguing people in Hollywood"—but a quick perusal of this year's countdown led us to wonder if the list itself hasn't become the nippily uninspired equivalent of shrunken wizard naughties. It tops out with a desperate cry for publicity by naming Heath Ledger Hollywood's most frigid—he's dead! Do you see how outrageous a claim that is?!—but it's the other occupants of the top ten that leave us even colder. Carmen Electra? Star Wars? Pacino and DeNiro in separate entries? This list's dead on arrival. Shoulda been you, Heigl. Oh wait—you're there too, quite predictably, at #3. [Film Threat]

Click to viewBoomp3.com Popular TV doc Katherine Heigl nearly passed out on the red carpet after catching a whiff of her beloved pooch’s breath. Heigl knew her dog’s breath was going to be rather intense, but she obviously underestimated the strength of it. Heigl said, “Looks like we’ll have to up Ronaldo’s brushings to five times a day like his mommy.” Heigl also mentioned she will most likely introduce an intensive program similar to the program she introduced to break rocker husband Joshua Kelley of his bad single-man habits. Heigl added, “It took two weeks, but he learned to love sitting down while going pee.” [Photo Credit: Splash Pics] *A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

Click to viewBoomp3.com Hot TV doc Katherine Heigl struggled greatly as she attempted to flag down a valet, taxicab, party van or any other motorist in Los Angeles on Monday night. The Bug Buster star was anxious to get back home to catch the latest episode of The Hills since she forgot to record it and rocker hubby Joshua Kelley was off somewhere singing for his supper. After fifteen minutes of arm waving and jumping up and down, Heigl felt that her glasses may have been the problem. Heigl tossed her Tina Fey shades aside and began the quest for attention again. Sadly, the removal of the glasses did not improve Heigl’s chances. [Photo Credit: X17] *A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

Click to viewBoomp3.com It looks like Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl fell off the non-smoking wagon once again. Heigl had a good excuse for her return to the addictive habit: driving on the 405 freeway. Heigl had to swing down to Snoop Town aka Long Beach to pick up her mother from the local airport and what should have been a quick trip turned into hour of sitting still. Heigl said, “I don’t get it. I thought we were in a gas crunch and people were driving less these days. Wrong! Nope. Apparently, everybody is still driving and they’re on the 405 when I have to pick up my momager. She was so cheesed off.” With the mounting stress, Heigl turned the only thing she knew that would relieve the tension. Heigl added, “I was doing so well, but I guess I’m not strong enough to face the 405 yet.” [Photo Credit: X17] *A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

Click to viewBoomp3.com While a majority of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest TV stars were getting all dolled for the Emmys this past weekend, one of the other stars had plans of her own. Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl, who decided to sit this year’s Emmys out, went furniture shopping with her best gal pal, her mom. Heigl said, “I could’ve gotten all dressed up and walked the red carpet with everybody else, but you know what? Been there, done that. Now shopping for modern Danish furniture? That’s an adventure I’m willing tackle week after week.” [Photo Credit: INF Daily] *A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

Any Straight-to-Flopz masterpiece can top out below $100,000 theatrically, but it takes a special kind of crap to do so with a real star above the line. Take Surfer, Dude, the new Matthew McConaughey adventure-in-shirtlessness that found exactly zero takers at Rotten Tomatoes and not many more upon its release in 96 theaters nationwide: $36,497 worth, to be precise, likely prompting the actor/producer/placenta vintner to wonder if perhaps he should have saved the comma in the film's title for the total gross. It's too late for that, though, and in any case, he has good — if slim — company in the so-called Nickel Club: A-listers with recent films that couldn't break $100K domestically before heading off to home-entertainment oblivion. Take a deep breath of equally rare air after the jump.· Jessica Simpson, Blonde Ambition — $6,422 Like several of her fellow Nickel Clubbers, Simpson fared much better internationally. A lot better. As in, 99.6% of Ambition's $1.4 million gross was earned overseas. But things will come around once she pays her dues; it doesn't get much harder than a minty love scene with Dane Cook. · Paris Hilton, The Hottie and the Nottie — $27,696 Another global sensation who nevertheless couldn't hack it at home, Hilton has since moved into documentaries. We salute her new strategy and wish her only the best. · John Cusack, Grace is Gone — $50,899 An oft-told tale of hubris, mistiming and waste: Cusack's award-winning Sundance drama cashed in at Park City with $4 million of Harvey Weinstein's money. The mogul dumped the film and his Oscar-campaign plans by the end of the year. NB: Cusack's follow-up, War Inc., did 10 times the business last spring almost entirely via word-of-mouth, never creeping over 33 screens. Honorable Mention: Katherine Heigl, Zyzzyx Road — $30 Filmed not long before Heigl broke through on Grey's Anatomy, history's lowest-grossing release sold exactly five tickets during a one-week run in Dallas in 2006 — one of which was purchased by its own makeup artist. It has picked up nicely as a cult DVD, on wwhich Heigl receives top billing. [Photo Credit: Getty Images]

Click to viewBoomp3.com Evidence that even the famous are feeling the sting of the current economic crunch was displayed when Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl was spotted holding a dollar bill in Los Feliz yesterday. Heigl is interested in refurnishing her home, but she has to stick to her budget. Heigl said, “I feel like that kid in front of the ice cream truck just yelling, ‘What can I get for such and such’. Nobody has been that helpful so far. Just a lot of eye rolling and comments about how I should save it for the valet.” That said, Heigl’s strict budgeting has not affected the necessities. Heigl added, “We’re going to get the biggest HDTV they have at Best Buy. Maybe we’ll be able to write that off as a business expense since I have to see how I look in Hi-Def and all. I heard that I shouldn’t have anything to worry about.” [Photo Credit: X17] *A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

Katherine Heigl's alleged heart of steel began to soften up after playing with a pit bull puppy on Tuesday night. After playing with the dog for a few moments, Heigl felt that she might not be able to handle all the cuteness. Heigl said, "He's just sooooo cute," before descending into five minutes of pure gibberish and baby talk. After ten minutes of playtime, the puppy's owner was anxious to get back home, but Heigl showed no signs of letting go.

Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl seized a golden opportunity and went out for a jog during Los Angeles's magic hour last night. Once she moved past the smog, traffic snarls, and unsavory characters that lined the streets, the beauty of the city surprised Heigl. However, Heigl could not escape a group of photographers who popped out of bushes, trees, and water fountains as she ran. Heigl stopped mid-stride and asked, "Can't I just work on my fitness without you and your entire posse snappily judging me? I need to get in shape for my man, the rocker. No, not the Rainn Wilson variety. He's more like the John Mayer variety, minus all that Jennifer Aniston bashing. Love her, btw. Now, either let me jog in peace or go fetch me a purple-flavored Vitamin Water from the 7-11."

Though we may go back and forth on whether we want our MTV, one thing we can all agree on is that we want a Dirt Sandwich. Like your favorite music channel in its heyday, it's packed with pop stars (Britney! Sanjaya!), celebrity antics (Bill Murray skydiving) and even the occasional bit of sobering news (Christina Applegate's mastectomy). And that whole "quick-cut MTV editing" thing? We got that, too. Sit back, put down your remote control, and let Molly McAleer take you on a psychedelic trip through the world of celebrity infotainment that would make even a Radiohead video seem banal. And if you don't watch? Katherine Heigl is gonna point and laugh at you.

PrivacyWatch celebrity sightings are submitted by our millions of Defamer operatives. We'd like to remind you that this feature is powered by you, so if you want to see more installments of PrivacyWatch, then all you've got to do is to send us your sightings. Submit yours to tips[AT]defamer.com (please put "sighting" or "PrivacyWatch" in the subject line so we don't lose them) and tell everyone about the time you saw a tired Kiefer Sutherland eating lunch with Gary Oldman and a couple of stunning brunettes. UPDATE (8/26/08): C'mon guys, we need you to be better than this! We just got this email from Gary Oldman's manager: "…About your item on Gary and Keifer, alas, Gary was not with Kiefer on Friday, Gary was out of the country on holiday with his family. Prior to that, Gary spent ten days in Barbados. Gary has not seen Kiefer for years and years. Whoever says they saw them together on Friday is, alas, mistaken!!" This week's installment also includes: Katherine Heigl, Anthony Michael Hall, Bryan Singer, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Louie Anderson, Tatyana Ali, Gordon Ramsey, Catherine Keener, Bradley Cooper, Victor Garber and more!SATURDAY, AUGUST 9 · Saw KATHERINE HEIGL at Cliff's Edge in Silverlake. My parents were in town and we wanted to take them someplace nice. We were sitting up in the outside covered area when Heigl and her entourage (which included her mother) were seated next to us. Alas, she decided that she didn't want to sit there (I heard her say something about not being able to smoke. Dead serious.), so they moved to a very secluded corner. Or, she may not have wanted to sit by us because when she came in, my sister nudged me and I totally turned around in my seat to look at who or what prompted the nudge ... perhaps she thought I was a super-fan who would lose my shit if she sat next to us. She would have been safe as I am not. Also, her voice is pretty annoying in person —way crackier than it is in movies. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13 · Saw ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL at Farmer's Market on Wednesday Aug 13th with Fiona Forbes (she's a Canadian tv host who no one in LA would reconize but i did!) He's still a little geeky. SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 · Fiesta Cantina, The 'Ho: Fighting my way through the gay-os to secure one last 2-for-1 drink special, I spotted BRYAN SINGER jauntily hopping to the music as he entered. He looked fresh and young but not as fresh and young looking as the A&F wearing tyke he was with. · JERRY O'CONNELL stopped by the 12 Shiny Nickels comedy show in Hollywood on Saturday night to see Carpoolers co-star TJ Miller perform. Seemed to have a delightful time. MONDAY, AUGUST 18 · Around 11:30ish, saw PUFF DADDY trying to de-puff himself with some light cardio at Equinox West Hollywood. Take that, take that! · LOUIE ANDERSON in front of Susina on Beverly. TUESDAY, AUGUST 19 · Saw twice in one night: the beautiful TATYANA ALI at Gingergrass and Hyperion Tavern with some friends. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20 · Had two good sightings in one night along the douchey Sunset Strip. First, outside of Ketchup, chef GORDON RAMSEY and his family. He was laid back and non-shouty, his kids looked happy and content and not snobby and privileged (I always look at the kids to see if they look miserable!). Then, later that night, outside of BLD Craft we see CATHERINE KEENER in the valet area. I spot her as we walk up and just as we pass her I said in a dorky voice "Catherine Keener, I love you". It cracked up the valet but she looked utterly confused and surprised (but awesome). · Mini-Alias nonreunion in the Arclight lobby: BRADLEY COOPER exited with hipster friends; one minute later, VICTOR GARBER entered. FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 · KIEFER SUTHERLAND must like the sandwiches at Dan Subs. Because he was there in Woodland Hills, on Ventura Blvd, again. This time, he was with GARY OLDMAN a Gary Oldman lookalike. Kiefer did not look so good — he looked exhausted. But he seemed to be enjoying his sub, but not nearly as much as the two stunning brunettes that were with them.