Reese Witherspoon was forced to do one disturbing thing in ‘Legally Blonde’ audition: "I was told..."
Reese Witherspoon is one of the most successful actresses in Hollywood today, but her road to securing iconic roles didn’t come without its challenges. In an interview with ‘The Hollywood Reporter’, the actress revealed the shocking difficulties she faced while trying to land the lead in the 2001 box office success ‘Legally Blonde’. Witherspoon revealed that she almost lost out on the chance of playing Elle Woods because of her role as the manipulative high school student Tracy Flick in the 1999 film ‘Election’. Studio bigwigs were so convinced that she was like her character from ‘Election’ that they felt she was not right for the part. The studio head had described her to her agent as a 'shrew' and wouldn’t give their approval to cast her for the part.
Her manager intervened and asked her to meet with the studio head as proof that she was the right fit for the movie. The advice Witherspoon received beforehand was disturbing, however— as she had to 'dress sexy' to change their perception of her. “My manager finally called and said, ‘You’ve got to go meet with the studio head because he will not approve you. He thinks you really are your character from 'Election' and that you’re repellent. And then I was told to dress sexy for the meeting,” Witherspoon shared in the interview. The actress admitted that at the time the demand seemed like a small ask given that she was young, with a baby, and desperate to earn a living.
Looking back now, as a mother herself, Witherspoon stressed that she wouldn't like to ever imagine her own daughter being told to do something like that. “It’s funny to think of all the things we were told to do back then because now you’re thinking, 'Oh God, if somebody told my daughter to do that, she’d be like, I really hope you’re joking.'” In the end, Witherspoon landed the role of Elle Woods—an icon of empowerment and survival—and ran with it. The movie did incredibly well at the box office, grossing close to $142 million.
This was not the only incident that Witherspoon wishes she could do differently. She previously also opened up about the harsh realities she faced in Hollywood, including her experiences with the 'casting couch' culture. At the Elle’s Women in Hollywood event in 2017, she claimed she was assaulted by a director when she was just 16. Witherspoon shared that she felt both anger and guilt, not just for what transpired but for keeping silent— a decision her agents and producers implied "was a condition of [her] employment,” as per People magazine.
She also spoke of how it was hard to revisit those painful memories but felt compelled to share her story after seeing other courageous women speak out. She said, “But after hearing all the stories these past few days and hearing these brave women speak up tonight about things that we’re kind of told to sweep under the rug and not to talk about, it’s made me want to speak up and speak up loudly because I actually felt less alone this week than I have ever felt in my entire career.”
