Rumors swirled regarding the reason. Some thought she had clashed with powerful executives by refusing to meet their demands. Others believed her personal life became an issue for the studio as Hollywood tightly controlled star images. There were also speculations that she was blacklisted due to the harsh politics of the entertainment business, perhaps related to an impassioned eulogy she gave in 1951 at the memorial service for actor J. Edward Bromberg, where she implied his death was caused by the stress of being called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).
For the next 12 years, her career was never the same. In the Golden Age of Hollywood, studios had significant control over actors. If a star went against the unwritten rules, they could be blacklisted, contracts revoked, and careers destroyed overnight. Grant, who had been on the path to superstardom, became a victim of the studio system.