While discussing the Oscars incident, the 44-year-old 'Legally Blonde' actress shares that she believes women feel pressure for achieving more financial success than their male partners.
- December 29, 2020
AceShowbiz - Reese Witherspoon discussed the shocking comments from then-husband Ryan Phillippe when the two presented an award at the 2002 Oscars. During an interview on "The HFPA in Conversation" podcast with journalist Margaret Gardiner, the "Big Little Lies" star was reminded when Ryan quipped, "You make more money than I do," on stage.
"You're reminding me of that!" Reese responded. "I forgot that ever happened. But you're right, he did say that, and no, it wasn't scripted, and he didn't tell me he was going to say that before it happened on air. So I was a little bit flummoxed in the moment, too."
The 44-year-old "Legally Blonde" actress further shared that she believed women felt pressure for achieving more financial success than their male partners. "There's so few women that make a lot of money that sometimes they're shamed for it, and sometimes they are expected to give more and do more and be more to others in the same position that, say, a male movie star would not be expected to," she said.
Reese, who split from Ryan four years after the incident, however, noted that things are different now. "But I do think gender norms have changed quite a bit since that moment in 2000 or something," the Oscar winner continued.
She then shared a moment when her daughter Ava, who is now 21 years old, went home in tears when she was in the second grade. The young Ava told her mom that she felt "so embarrassed" when her classmates told her that her mom was "one of the highest-paid actress in Hollywood."
"I said, 'Don't ever feel ashamed of a woman making money. There are women all over this world who don't have an opportunity or an education or the ability to make money. And the more women who make more money, will give more money away, will take care of their societies, will take care of their communities, will do more with that money," Reese recalled telling her daughter. She went on saying, "So don't ever feel bad about your mom making money, and don't ever feel bad if you make money, and don't be embarrassed or ashamed if its more than your partner."
