Reese Witherspoon Fans Name Actress Who ‘Doesn’t Like’ Her
Fans believe they’ve unraveled the mystery of Reese Witherspoon’s A-list ex-friend.
Using the hints Witherspoon dropped in an interview with People Thursday, internet sleuths unearthed a speech the Legally Blonde actress made that was intended to honor Kate Winslet, but ultimately sounded more like a “roast,” as Witherspoon put it to the magazine.
“I always wanted to be a European movie star, wear giant sunglasses, elaborate neck scarves, smoke hand-rolled cigarettes, and have savoir faire and gravitas,” Witherspoon reportedly said according to a transcript from the BAFTA/LA Cunard Britannia Awards in 2007 from a Witherspoon fan site. “Imagine my good fortune when Kate Winslet moved into my neighborhood, rang my door bell and said, [mimicking her British accent], ‘Dahling, Sam is off shooting, and I believe our children are the same age. Could they possibly have a play date and oh, by the way, it’s almost 9 o’clock and I’ve had nothing to do drink, do you have any wine?’”
Witherspoon’s remarks at the event also feature a line about “laser hair removal,” which the actress notably told People was among the offending lines in her speech.
“I think she doesn’t like me anymore,” Witherspoon told co-star Will Ferrell during the sit-down with the magazine to promote their new movie. “We’re not friends anymore. I’m not even kidding.” The actress recalled the moment she “embarrassed” herself and tanked the friendship at the “British and elegant and classy” event. She described this friend as a “serious, proper actress.”
“I had never been to this award ceremony, so I thought it was like a roast. So I got up and I roasted her,” Witherspoon said. “I thought it was so funny and it was just, I had the wrong audience,” she continued Thursday, recalling that she’d said while presenting, “‘Remember the time we got laser hair removal?’”
She did not reveal the event or when it happened during the interview, but fans took to the internet armed with the tidbits she’d dropped to make the case for Winslet, who Witherspoon suggested “doesn’t talk to me anymore.”
The two actresses appeared together at the 2016 Oscars to present Spotlight and Bridge of Spies, but showed no signs of a riff as they made the announcement. In backstage photos, Winslet and Witherspoon can be seen chatting and embracing backstage before presenting together.
Either way, Witherspoon told People Thursday that the ordeal “literally haunts” her—and now that Winslet’s been named, there may just be a next chapter to the “embarrassing” story.
The Daily Beast has reached out to reps for Witherspoon and Winslet for confirmation but has not received a response for either.