What started as a wholesome way for Katherine Heigl to show her love for abandoned puppies has quickly turned into a legal mess.
The Grey’s Anatomy actress and her mother, Nancy, run an organization called the Jason Heigl Foundation, which was named in honor of her late brother.
Their mission has always been to support animal rescue efforts, particularly saving animals from being put down by specific shelters.
Katherine Heigl and her mother are suing a nonprofit for defamation
Image credits: katherineheigl
“Over 1.5 million healthy, adoptable cats and dogs — about 1 every 21 seconds — are euthanized in U.S. shelters every year. Help us change the statistics,” they wrote on their website.
But such a feat can’t be achieved alone. Both Katherine and Nancy signed a deal to support The Pitty Committee, a dog rescue based in Santa Monica.
According to a new lawsuit, the Jason Heigl Foundation would give TPC $5,000 monthly so that the non-profit could rescue a certain number of puppies of the Heigls’ choosing — a deal that should have ended with two satisfied parties.
However, documents obtained by TMZ show that Katherine and Nancy had discovered TPC was “allegedly mismanaging their donation.” When they asked where their money was going, the dog rescue company didn’t have a great excuse lined up.
Image credits: badlandsranchpets
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Their year-long contract ended in December 2023, and the two did not make any moves to renew it. However, Katherine said that TPC exec Alyssa Deetman claimed the Heigls owed them hundreds of thousands of dollars—a year later.
Posting on social media, Alyssa reportedly accused the 46-year-old of putting dogs in small cages, even going so far as to say that she was responsible for the passing of two puppies.
But in the suit, the Heigls remember their interactions going a lot differently.
TPC allegedly wrote to Nancy, “I will sing your praises always… I am so proud of the work [your foundation] does. I respect you, and I respect [Katherine] and I know the work you guys do.”
TPC and the Heigls had struck a deal that lasted until December 2023
Image credits: katherineheigl
Well..our situation with the Jason Heigl foundation is FINALLY coming to light!!
Rest assured that their PR team is…
Posted by The Pitty Committee on Thursday, March 6, 2025
Now, in response, the actress and her mother are suing TPC and Deetman for defamation, saying the horrible comments have hurt their reputation and have greatly influenced their ability to keep working in the world of animal rescue.
However, the rescue organization has shared its side of how things went down.
“We filed a lawsuit against Katherine and Nancy’s phony Foundation for fraud and defamation! The Heigl’s have been known for repeatedly partnering with smaller rescue orgs… and not following through with their financial obligations for the Dogs that they rescued,” they wrote.
Image credits: katherineheigl
“They bully and intimidate smaller rescues and it’s about time someone stood up to them! I am so ready for everything to come to light,” they said, adding, “Seems like Katherine’s PR team is on the offensive lol. They are toast.
“Time to expose them for all they are worth! Shame on the phony Jason Heigl Foundation!!!”
“I will sing your praises always… I am so proud of the work [your foundation] does. I respect you, and I respect [Katherine] and I know the work you guys do,” the NPO allegedly said
Image credits: katherineheigl
The 27 Dresses star has never been shy when it comes to raising awareness of America’s brutal treatment of many animals.
In 2022, she spoke with PEOPLE about the “barbaric” use of gas chambers in order to euthanize shelter animals in Utah.
“It’s preposterous and pretty mind-blowing, actually,” she told the outlet. “Utah, sadly, is one of three states that still does this. It’s such an antiquated and, quite frankly, sadistic way of euthanizing. There’s a million reasons the bill should pass to end it.
“I can’t think of a single reason why it wouldn’t, except if our elected officials have a sadistic streak, and that cannot be condoned on any level.”
She concluded by reaffirming, “The mark of a civilized society is how you treat the voiceless and the innocent among us.”
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Particularly, as a mother to six dogs and three cats, Katherine feels overly protective of rescue animals.
“This is a horrible black mark on this really special place,” she said, mentioning that Utah was a very “beloved” state to her. “I would never have thought they would do this.”
Heigl’s decision to sue a rescue didn’t sit well with a few netizens
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