McKenzie thinks Heigl should quit complaining

Among the things I learned on the recent Television Critics Association press tour:

 Patience with and goodwill toward Katherine Heigl are pretty much gone.

 And I like "Southland" star Ben McKenzie a whole lot more than I thought I did.

Heigl, you'll recall, ticked off a whole bunch of people last year. An Emmy-winner in 2007, she dissed the show that made her a star, "Grey's Anatomy," by not submitting her name in 2008.

Because, she said, "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination."

This came in the wake of the Hollywood writers' strike, which disrupted the "Grey's" production schedule. And because of efforts to write Heigl's character "light" for part of that season to accomodate her movie schedule.

Then she bad-mouthed her biggest big-screen success, calling "Knocked Up" both "sexist" and "hard to love."

And then, earlier this summer, she complained to David Letterman about her grueling "Grey's" schedule.

"It was — I'm going to keep saying this because I hope it embarrasses them — a 17-hour day, which I think is cruel and mean," Heigl said.

And it was, once again, the resulting of accommodating her schedule so she could do the movie "The Ugly Truth."

Which leads us to McKenzie and his "Southland" co-star, Michael Cudlitz, who were asked what their reaction was to TV stars who complain about how tough their jobs are.

"I think they (stink). Go get another job," Cudlitz said.

"They should be ashamed of themselves for complaining," McKenzie added — showing uncharacteristic emotion in his response. Even when he starred in "The O.C.," McKenzie was nothing but quiet and laid-back in interviews.

"I have a very visceral reaction. I'm sorry," he said. "A lot of people in this country, much less the world, are in tough times economically, and even if we weren't in a recession, we are privileged as actors to, A, do what we do, and, B, be paid the ridiculous amounts we are paid. And shut up."

Good for him!

Actors are not the only ones who complain about their lot in lives, of course. Even TV critics in the middle of 12- to 16-hour work days on press tour start complaining.

At which point we have to remind ourselves that we have great jobs. And if we feel the urge to complain, we should, yes, shut up.

As should Heigl.

e-mail: pierce@desnews.com