Someone in Hollywood dislikes Reese Witherspoon? Say it ain’t so!
The Legally Blonde star always seemed to have so many friends. Take Jennifer Aniston for example – the pair played sisters in the iconic sitcom Friends and currently play co-workers on AppleTV+’s The Morning Show. Or take Natalie Portman. She and Witherspoon reportedly became friends after both of them divorced their husbands and needed support.
So, what’s going on? Despite a few slips here and there – like her very public disorderly conduct arrest in 2013 – Witherspoon remains an incredibly popular actress. But no one can have universal approval, and it turns out a very big name so happens to dislike her. Witherspoon revealed all during a recent interview with People, which she shared with her You’re Cordially Invited co-star Will Ferrell. Don’t worry, it’s not him with the grudge.
Witherspoon said that what happened between her and this A-lister “haunts” her. “So 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,” she said. “But 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 doesn’t name the actress but says she was “British” and “classy” – i.e. not the sort of person who’d appreciate jokes being cracked at her expense. “I was like, ‘Remember the time we got laser hair removal?’ I’m still embarrassed about it.”
And unfortunately, the incident completely ruined the budded relationship between Witherspoon and her British friend. “We’re not friends anymore. I’m not even kidding — we’re not friends anymore!” she told People. “I think she doesn’t like me anymore. I thought it was so funny and it was just, I had the wrong audience. It was pretty bad. Yeah. Not even kidding, she doesn’t talk to me anymore. Oh well.”
But who was this mysterious actress? Witherspoon may not have named her, but nothing remains a secret from the Internet for too long. According to celeb gossip site JustJared, the “classy” star was none other than Kate Winslet. They tracked down an article reposted on a Witherspoon fan site all the way back in 2007. The original source was “The Envelope” and they reported on Witherspoon’s speech about Winslet at the BAFTA/LA Cunard Britannia Awards in November 2007.
Yes, laser hair removal was mentioned, as a story Witherspoon decided was “too bawdy or tawdry or drunken to tell.” It’s easy to see Winslet bristling at that, or at Witherspoon’s introduction, which consisted of her imitating Winslet’s British accent. “Imagine my good fortune when Kate Winslet moved into my neighborhood, rang my door bell and said, ‘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 drink, do you have any wine?’”
Witherspoon also talked about a famous scene from the Winslet movie Holy Smoke. “When she peed all over herself in front of Harvey Keitel. Now that’s commitment!”
So, don’t expect a Witherspoon-Winslet team-up movie anytime soon. Just Jared did point out, though, that even if Winslet doesn’t like Witherspoon, she remains perfectly professional around her. Both actresses presented an award at the 2016 Oscars, and there was no hint of any friction between them. And who knows? Maybe now that Witherspoon has come clear, Winslet will forgive her.