WHO: LAURA JEANNE REESE WITHERSPOON
WHAT: REESE WAS ARRESTED AND CHARGED FOR DISORDERLY CONDUCT AFTER HUSBAND JAMES TOTH WAS PULLED OVER FOR SUSPICION OF DRUNK DRIVING
WHERE: ON AMERICAN GROUND
WHEN: MAY 2013
WHY: SHE IS AN AMURIKAN CITIZEN
“You know it's bad when the one being arrested for the DUI is like, "You need to chill."”
― Jim Toth, Reese's husband, was pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence.
― Legal documents state that Reese kept exiting the vehicle - even leaning out the window at one point to let the cop know she didn't believe him to be a real police officer - to the point where the officer warned her that he would arrest her the next time she got out.
― America's sweetheart was driven by some misplaced sense of invincibility and got out of the car again, which prompted her arrest.
Reese made a statement to Us Weekly shortly after her arrest:
“Out of respect for the ongoing legal situation, I cannot comment on everything that is being reported right now. But I do wanna say, I clearly had one drink too many and I am deeply embarrassed about the things I said. It was definitely a scary situation and I was frightened for my husband, but that is no excuse. I was disrespectful to the officer who was just doing his job. The words I used that night definitely do not reflect who I am. I have nothing but respect for the police and I am very sorry for my behavior.”
SOURCE
Everything was caught via dashcam. Bad for Reese, good for ONTD.
Transcript - 0:45 (Witherspoon getting arrested):
Witherspoon: I am now being arrested and HANDCUFFED?
Cop: Yup.
Witherspoon: Do you know my name, Sir?
Cop: Don't need to know.
Witherspoon: You don't 'need to know' my name?
Cop: Not quite yet.
Witherspoon: Oh, really? Okay! You're about to find out who I am.
Cop: That's fine, I'm not real worried about you, ma'am.
Transcript - 1:26 (Toth, the one getting the DUI, apologizing for Witherspoon's behaviour):
Toth: I'm sorry. I had nothing to do with that.
Cop: I know. You've been polite and courteous.
SOURCE
Part II:
Some choice quotes from the video above, said by a visibly drunk Reese Witherspoon:
“I had questions to ask him and he said, 'no, you can't ask me any questions' and I said, 'sir, I have a question to ask you' and I said I also need to use the restroom 'cause I'm pregnant.”
“I'm from Tennessee, I don't know.”
“I said, 'sir, you're arresting me - this is gonna be national news, you're arresting me' and he said 'I don't care' and he started yelling at me!”
SOURCE
― Reese did an ABC News Exclusive where she publicly apologized for her and her husband's 'poor judgement', stating "we know better and we shouldn't have [gotten into the vehicle while drunk]."
― Referring to her 'do you know my name?' and 'I'm pregnant' comments to the officers, she went on to say that she had no idea what she was saying that night and even chuckles to emphasize how she didn't recognize herself in that video.
If ever there was a fine example of PR-rehearsed bullshit, this was it.
SOURCE
Early last year (April 2020), Reese looked back on the arrest while chatting with Jameela Jamil on her podcast, I Weigh.
Nearly 7 years later, Reese Witherspoon is opening up about her 2013 arrest: "I make dumb decisions. I make great decisions. I'm just a human being." https://t.co/HEauZhzNjU pic.twitter.com/Vf7KvLCOTN
— E! News (@enews) April 18, 2020
Seven years later, the interview came back up while Witherspoon chatted with Jameela Jamil for the newest episode of her I Weigh podcast, during which the host complimented Witherspoon for the way she apologized. "You apologized and shamed yourself in a way that was so f--king refreshing to me," Jamil said.
Echoing that same honesty from nearly a decade prior, Witherspoon said, "But, I did something really stupid," before Jamil continued to recall the star's thorough apology.
"It was so embarrassing and dumb," the actress said of her mistake. "But, you know what—turns out I breathe air. I bleed the same way. I make dumb decisions. I make great decisions. I'm just a human being."
SOURCE
Previously on this series:
I. Ashlee Simpson Harassing McDonald's Employees
What you drinkin' tonight, ONTD?
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