Live and learn. Reese Witherspoon made a rare statement about her headline-making 2013 arrest, admitting that her behavior was unacceptable yet human.
“You apologized and shamed yourself in a way that was so f–king refreshing to me,” Jameela Jamil told the Oscar winner, 44, during the Thursday, April 16, episode of her “I Weigh” podcast.
Witherspoon noted that her response stemmed from the fact that she genuinely regretted her actions. “But I did something really stupid,” she admitted.
The Little Fires Everywhere star then elaborated on her remorse. “It was so embarrassing and dumb,” she acknowledged. “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.”
Witherspoon and husband Jim Toth were arrested in Atlanta in April 2013. He was charged with DUI, while she faced a count of disorderly conduct for interfering with police.
The agent, 49, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in May 2013; he was sentenced to community service, one year of probation and an alcohol education program. The actress, for her part, pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and was ordered to pay a fine.
Witherspoon previously apologized for the incident on multiple occasions. “I clearly had one drink too many and I am deeply embarrassed about the things I said,” she told Us Weekly in an April 2013 statement. “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’m very sorry for my behavior.”
The Legally Blonde actress appeared on Good Morning America in May 2013 to own up to her “unacceptable” behavior. “We thought we were fine to drive and we absolutely were not,” she explained at the time. “We know better and we shouldn’t have done that.”
Witherspoon — who shares daughter Ava, 20, and son Deacon, 16, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe and son Tennessee, 7, with Toth — then revealed how she approached the topic with her children: “We have to say when you make a mistake you take responsibility and we are taking responsibility and doing everything in our power to make it right.”
