Reese Witherspoon: Famous Actress Stopped Talking to Me After Award Show Faux Pas

Reese Witherspoon revealed that she accidentally ruined a friendship with a “proper actress” friend of hers in a new interview with People—but didn’t reveal the name of the woman who stopped speaking to her after she “embarrassed” her in public.

“I think she doesn’t like me anymore,” Witherspoon told co-star Will Ferrell in a conversation to promote their new rom-com movie, recalling the ordeal that soured the budding relationship. The Legally Blonde actress said she botched an awards show speech honoring her friend. “It literally haunts me,” she added.

“We’re not friends anymore. I’m not even kidding—we’re not friends anymore,” she said. Witherspoon said things went downhill after she’d gotten on stage to present her actress friend an award but ended up roasting her instead. “This friend of mine, who I didn’t really know that well but she was a very serious, proper actress, she asked me to give her an award.”

“But I had never been to this award ceremony, so I thought it was like a roast,” she continued. “So I got up and I roasted her.”

The ordeal was particularly “embarrassing” she explained, because the ceremony was “British,” “elegant,” and “classy.” She tried to have a sense of humor about it, but her “proper actress” buddy wasn’t laughing. “I thought it was so funny and it was just, I had the wrong audience,” she said, recalling that she’d said while presenting, “‘Remember the time we got laser hair removal?’”

Witherspoon has presented several awards to other actresses, including her Big Little Lies costar Nicole Kidman’s AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, during which she did an impression of Kidman’s Australian accent as Kidman watched on from the crowd. Witherspoon attended the BAFTAs in 2015 and 2023, where she walked the carpet with British actresses Keira Knightley, Rosamund Pike, and Felicity Jones. She didn’t present a televised award at either of the BAFTA ceremonies she attended, however.

“It was pretty bad,” Witherspoon continued to People about her speech roasting the unnamed actress. “Not even kidding, she doesn’t talk to me anymore. Oh well,” she continued, but admitted, “I’m still embarrassed about it.”