Katherine Heigl of "Grey's Anatomy" Not in Emmy Running

Katherine Heigl, of the hit TV drama, Grey's Anatomy, has bowed out of the race for an Emmy after surprisingly winning one last year for her role in the series, reported Reuters. The move is apparently a swipe at the producers because of her lack of presence recently in the series.

The 29-year-old actress chose to not submit her name for consideration and only explained her lack of a ballot when asked by Tom O'Neil, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times' Web site, TheEnvelope.com. "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination, and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention," she told O'Neil in a statement, according to Reuters.

The nominations for the Emmys will be announced on July 17. Since Heigl's nomination last year, beating out two of her costars, she has had a noticeably reduced profile on the show, reported Reuters.

O'Neil told Reuters, "What she deserved after winning the Emmy was a heightened profile on the show, not a reduced one," adding that she appeared to be "logging an internal protest" with the show's producers. After her big-screen role in 27 Dresses that was released in January, she is to be in a film adaptation of Escape, a best-selling memoir of Carolyn Jessop, whose testimony helped convict polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, reported Reuters.