Katherine Heigl has broken her silence after attending an animal charity event held at President Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago resort.
“Animals don’t vote,” the actress, 47, said in a statement to Us Weekly on Wednesday, March 11. “The only room they don’t like is the euthanasia room at a shelter. They are completely at the mercy of us, and they have no voice of their own.”
Heigl continued, “This event was about animal advocacy — something that has always been deeply personal to me. Anyone who knows me knows that protecting animals is one of my greatest passions.”
Katherine added that she and her mother, Nancy Heigl, have worked together for years on advocacy for animal rescues through the foundation they named after the actress’ late brother, Jason Heigl. (Jason died at age 15 after being placed on life support following a car accident in 1986.)
“My mother, Nancy, and I have spent years advocating for animals through the Jason Heigl Foundation. As a society, we should all come together to protect the voiceless and the innocent,” Katherine shared. “This should not be a polarizing issue.”
Katherine added that the event raised “over $5 million to help animals in need.”
“I’m so grateful to everyone who showed up, supported, and continues to stand up for those who can’t speak for themselves,” she concluded.
Katherine made her first public appearance in years at the Wine, Women & Shoes benefit event supporting Big Dog Ranch House at Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, March 8. She was joined by her mom for the event. The president’s daughter in-law, Lara Trump, was the event’s honorary cochair. Other celebrities who attended the function included Jeanine Pirro, Cesar Milan and more.
While at the fundraiser, Katherine opened up about the event’s goal to help pets who do not have a home.
“Our biggest goal right now really is to diminish the number of unwanted litters coming into this country, which is overcrowding our shelters,” she said in an interview with the Palm Beach Post published on Monday, March 9. “We hear the word ‘shelter,’ and we think these animals are safe there, and they are not. It’s not the shelter’s fault, and it’s not the fault of the shelters’ workers. It’s that our country is overrun with puppy-mill breeders.”
While Katherine rose to fame for her role on Grey’s Anatomy, she has remained out of the spotlight in the past few years. She currently resides on a ranch in Utah with husband Josh Kelley and their kids, Naleigh, 16, Adalaide, 13, and Joshua, 8.
