Reese Witherspoon Opens Up About Her ‘Embarrassing and Dumb’ 2013 Arrest
Reese Witherspoon is opening out about her drunken arrest in 2013, candidly admitting how embarrassing she found the whole public ordeal.
Witherspoon was speaking to The Good Place actress Jameela Jamil for an episode of Jamil's I Weigh podcast when the subject came up. Jamil told the Little Fires Everywhere star how much she admired Witherspoon's very candid apology in the wake of her arrest after her husband, Hollywood agent Jim Toth, was pulled over in Atlanta for suspicion of drunk driving in April of 2013.
Witherspoon gave the officer on the scene a difficult time in a video that went viral, refusing to comply with his order to remain in the car and angrily demanding, "Do you know my name?" before adding, "You're about to find out who I am ... You're about to be on national news."
"I did something really stupid," Witherspoon tells Jamil, adding, “It was so embarrassing and dumb. 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."
The actress was arrested for disorderly conduct, while Toth faced DUI charges after failing a field sobriety test. His blood-alcohol level registered at .139, well above Georgia's legal limit of .08. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI, but avoided jail time after a judge ordered him to perform 40 hours of community service and attend an alcohol education program, along with paying a $600 fine. Witherspoon pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and paid a fine of $100, according to People.
Witherspoon issued a very strongly-worded public apology after the incident, saying, "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. I have nothing but respect for the police and I'm very sorry for my behavior."
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