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In recent years, Katherine Heigl has done her best to erase the controversies that once overshadowed her career. But clearly, she remains a magnet – or the creator? – of even bigger controversies. What is it this time? An accusation of fraud that goes up to $300,000.
Whether it was the Emmy controversy where Heigl declined to submit herself for an Emmy since she felt that she was “not given the material this season [on Grey’s Anatomy] to warrant an Emmy nomination” or criticizing the film Knocked Up as a sexist film, her comments have painted her as “difficult” to work with in Hollywood. For a while now, the actress has worked hard to clear up what she feels were misunderstandings. But now she faces a new problem that threatens her reputation.
In court documents of a lawsuit obtained by InTouch Weekly, a woman named Alyssa Faith Deetman has accused Heigl and her mother, Nancy Heigl, as well as their organization, The Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, of defrauding her animal rescue, The Pitty Committee, by promising and then paying/reinbursing vet bills and other expenses for shelter dogs as the mother and daughter’s original aim was to use them as a stunt for publicity to secure donations since they started working together in 2023.
In her suit, Alyssa outlined that Heigl’s organization “have a pattern and practice of using dog rescue organizations, as with [Alyssa], who are less well funded, and less sophisticated, than defendants, and each of them, for favorable publicly by requesting these organizations to rescue shelter dogs chosen by defendants … for public attribution to defendants … offering promises of fully funding the requested efforts.”
The suit adds that these rescues, which are publicized, “creates goodwill and favorable publicly for defendants” which then aids in their efforts to “obtain donations for Jason Heigl Foundations and to sell [their pet food brand].” But allegedly, after Alyssa’s organization made these rescyes on Nancy Heigl’s request, she refused to make the paypenst as promised, thus “causing hardship on the rescue organization.”
As per Alyssa, her dog rescue spent approximately $349,691.23 while depending on Nancy’s promises, a commitment she never fulfilled, which in turn damaged her and her rescue organization’s reputation as well as affected their ability to get further donations from others.
Just days after the lawsuit, Heigl, her mother, and their foundation sued Alyssa for defamation, her “online smear campaign,” and for her alleged plan to “capitalize and trade on Katherine Heigl’s celebrity in Hollywood and the animal rescue space rather than accept the end of the business relationship.” The actress has claimed that they have fulfilled all their payments as promised to save dogs. But the actress has accused Alyssa of requesting more funds than originally decided, even as she was “incapable of fulfilling” all “obligations under the agreement.” So, once the original agreement expired in January 2024, Heigl non-profit did not renew its collaboration.