Katherine Heigl Apologizes After Receiving Backlash for Selfies at Brother’s Grave Site

Katherine Heigl has apologized after posting a number of photos taken at her brother’s grave site in Upstate New York, with the actress receiving immediate backlash after many of her followers deemed the shots disrespectful.

The actress visited her grandparents and brother’s graves at a cemetery in Buffalo, New York, posting a set of now-deleted photos on her Instagram page along with captions intended to be comedic.

One post saw Heigl taking a selfie with a statue, who she referred to as “an impatient angel.”

In another shot, the former Grey’s Anatomy star sat at the foot of a monument, writing that she “managed to get in a little gossip with the girls.”

The 39-year-old also posed with the headstones of her brother and grandparents.

After receiving criticism, Heigl deleted the photos and replaced them with two Instagram videos in which she apologized for her actions.

“I noticed on my Instagram page that the post I posted earlier was getting a lot of reaction and I realized you guys are right and that was not appropriate and was disrespectful and I’ve taken it down,” the mom of three said. “But somebody commented and … was kind of just saying they didn’t think it was an appropriate thing to do, but that I was probably trying to make a hard moment lighthearted and that’s exactly what I was doing.”

She continued, “It’s kind of a heavy thing to go and visit my loved ones’ graves and I decided to try to find some moments of levity and humor and didn’t realize how inappropriate I was being.”

The Suits star also thanked her followers for helping her see the error of her ways.

“So I deeply apologize and I thank you guys for understanding that sometimes I don’t think things through clearly enough,” she said. “And I am grateful for your input and for kind of giving me a head’s up when I’m maybe going too far. And thank you for forgiving me.”

Heigl concluded, “Next time I will be more thoughtful about other people’s feelings and not just my own. Anyway, I hope you’re all having a wonderful Sunday and again, thank you for kind of stepping up and saying something and bringing something to my awareness that needed to be brought.”

Heigl’s husband, musician Josh Kelley, has kept his footage from the day on his Instagram page, including a video of himself walking with an “old friend.”

Photo Credit: Instagram / @katherineheigl