Reese Witherspoon’s GMA interview yesterday seemed to inspire mixed feelings from most people. I think many of Reese’s fans will be able to forgive her transgressions and they’ll eventually see her as the same old bubbly, blonde sweetheart. Maybe the only thing Reese won’t be able to get away with – for a while, anyway – is acting like she’s the only “good girl” in Hollywood. No more simpering judgments about nude photos, no more holier-than-thou interviews where she reinforces the idea that she’s the only sane woman in Hollywood. Never again!
So, as I said in yesterday’s post, Reese’s “post-arrest comeback” plan is immediate and multi-pronged. The interview was part of that, and so is this news – that Reese has already quietly taken care of her disorderly conduct arrest.
Reese Witherspoon’s day in court has come and gone, with virtually none of the drama that surrounded her original April 19 arrest in Atlanta, Ga. On Thursday, May 2, the Oscar winner’s lawyer, Bruce Morris, appeared in court on her behalf to plead no contest to the disorderly conduct charge that had been leveled against her, TMZ reports. Her husband, CAA agent Jim Toth, pled guilty to driving under the influence, and was present for the court date.
Witherspoon, 37 — who famously asked the arresting officer if he knew who she was — will reportedly pay just a $213 fine for her infraction. But Toth, 41, will face a harsher punishment.
While he didn’t receive any jail time for the DUI charge, he has been sentenced to perform 40 hours of community service. Additionally, he must attend an alcohol education program and will be on probation for 12 months.
According to TMZ, the judge told Toth he was lucky the damage wasn’t worse. “Consider yourself fortunate you didn’t injure your passenger and didn’t kill anyone,” the gossip site quotes the judge as saying.
The court news comes just hours after Witherspoon’s mea culpa on Good Morning America. Speaking about the arrest on the ABC show, the Mud actress said she “literally panicked” when she saw the police officer arresting her husband.
“I told him I was pregnant. I’m not pregnant,” she revealed. “I said all kinds of crazy things.”
“I was so disrespectful to him,” she added of the cop. “I have police officers in my family. I work with police officers every day. I know better. It’s just unacceptable.”
That judge sounds pretty no-nonsense. And 40 hours of community service plus an alcohol education class? How easy is that? I bet his lawyer will even be able to work it out so Jim can do his community service hours in LA too. As for Reese’s punishment… only $213 for mouthing off to a cop? Only $213 for refusing a direct order from an officer arresting a drunk driver? I wonder how differently this whole situation would have gone down if Reese and Jim were African-American. Someone would have gotten tasered, at the very least.
Oh, and the dash-cam videos from Reese’s arrest were released and they are a hoot! We already know all of the crap she said, but hearing her say it is pretty awesome/frightening/hilarious. This is how I imagine Lindsay Lohan acts all the time:
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
I just like her more after watching that, it’s hilarious! Everybody who drinks has acted stupid like that at least once.
Not to a cop. And I’ve never gotten into a car with a drunk driver who could have killed someone.
You must not have drank like I did back in my college days lol. I got into a car many times with a drunk driver, and I’m very lucky I was never hurt. But when you’re that intoxicated usually you don’t think about it. Of course I would never do or act like that now at my age, but I really don’t even drink anymore. Having kids fixed that 😉
I just can’t seem to find a mother in her late thirties with kids at home getting drunk and getting in a car with a drunk driver and THEN mouthing off to a cop. We’re all stupid in college but Reese is most definitely not a college girl. Not even remotely amusing to me.
I think attitudes to DUI have changed a lot in the last few years, for one, and for two she’s not in college. She’s a middle aged woman with 2 teens and a baby.
I also think this is the first look most of us have had at her without her PR team involved.
Maybe when they were 21 and certainly not to police.
Me too. I like her so much better. I adore her drunken outrage! But she better thank God that she isnt black…….
hahahaaha!!!!! SO TRUE. can you imagine if this was Halle Berry??
Yes, I can Muffin. If it were Halle Berry aomeone would have been run over already.
TESTIFY!!!!!!!!!
Yeah white privilege is hilarious, as is enabling a drunk driver.
Everyone else knows that if you talk back to an officer, and get in his face, the arrest will be imminent and violent. But she’s an upper class white woman, so she will say and do what she wants and you will consider it hilarious because privilege.
Totally agree, Annie. Makes you wonder how sympathetic everyone would have been if this was a black couple. I guarantee if they were black, they would not be given slaps on the wrist like these two
Agree completely. This BITCH! As a black woman, I would have been tazed or knocked out if I even dared to physically approach an officer like she did. It’s just amazing the difference that privilege makes. It’s funny, because I have never really thought much of Reese’s acting, nor her beauty, and feel kinda vindicated by her ridiculousness, because I always thought she seemed like a stealth bitch. I really hope her fake goody-goody face is cracked forever!
As a middle class white woman who is one year younger than Reese — no way would it ever occur to me to act like that toward a cop! I just about pee my pants when the person behind me gets pulled over, because I’m afraid I did something bad and it’s going to be me. No, this is wealth and celebrity: mere whiteness is not enough.
By the way, a few years ago, a guy in this area pretending to be a cop was pulling over white female college students and raping them. And I’ve been sexually harassed by legit cops. It’s not all sunshine for any of us. Wealth means more and more as race means less and less. Chris Brown nearly killed Rihanna and got community service he didn’t complete. I’m not going to pretend I don’t have white privilege, because of course I do. But only the rich and powerful get away with this kind of thing with a friendly pat on the wrist.
White privilege is a real thing, and it results in all kinds of horrifying things. This situation, decomposed, though, has a couple parts. One part is a drunk *person* acting crazy drunk. She’s saying and doing a lot of really silly things, because she’s drunk (we assume; I have no idea how this woman actually *is*). Depending on our relationship with drunk people, these “silly” things might be funny, pathetic, or cause for alarm. The cop’s reaction to those “silly” things is where we see the privilege coming into play–and that reaction is not Reese Witherspoon’s fault.
Absolutely. Take away white for a second and imagine Reese being a woman of color who is famous, oh say like Rihanna!! Can’t imagine many people saying words of support about her behaving in that manner. Ironically Riri often gets called out for her party girl lifestyle but she ain’t never been in a hot mess situation like this. Lol. I’ve been on several sites and people co signing Reese dumb ass behaviour EVEN though she not only was drunk (Not a major biggie tbh) but she was arrogant as f*ck too.
Toth seems to get it, just standing there silently. He knows he messed up. Reese just sounds like a typical drunk. She still calls the officer sir, despite all the ‘I’m an American’ business.
It shows how much power she thinks she has. I have no power. I would be peeing myself in fear if a cop put cuffs on me.
Yes! And I just LOVE LOVE LOVE how he says he’s sorry for her behavior and that he has absolutely nothing to do with that. Just perfect
LOVE the way Toth totally disowns her to the policeman: “I tried. I had nothing to do that that.”
Policeman: “I know…”
hahahhahahahahaha
Toth had the expression of a man used to seeing those types of tantrums.
Even the…what was it…”Not now, Reese,” was just telling. He sees it all the time.
I watched it multiple times just to see Toth’s face and his whispers and his statement at the end.
He looked like he was mouthing “shut up, shut up, shut up” to her.
Her husband comes off as saner and more respectful than her. She just sounds crazy with her I’m an American citizen crap.
Everyone (I thought) knows the rule of not getting out of the car unless the officer asks you to.
Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled and more than a little bit drunk and crazy.
More bus-tossing going on with those two person than at a Greyhound depot.
I’ve never spoken to anyone like that in my life, let alone to a cop – and yes, I partied heavily in college.
Her behavior is unbelievable. What an entitled brat.
Thank you! I did more than my share of patting in college (went to school in New Orleans) and I had the sense to NEVER talk to a police officer like that in my life. How incredibly stupid. I knew as a drunk 18 year old that that was completely inappropriate and regardless of how white or middle class I was, mouthing off to a cop would get me a serious case of handcuffs, back seats of police cars and jail!
Me, too.
The video is funny cause it totally contradicts what her statement said-she’s not acting particularly drunk, she’s just acting like an entitled twat and in no ways is she acting fearful for her husband.
Agree…. I don’t think she sounds that drunk! LOL Yes, I’m sure she had some drinks, and I’m sure that probably clouded her judgement enough to fuel her self-entitled rant 🙂 Honestly, I don’t think she would have behaved that way if she were totally sober…. I think she would have managed to contain herself a bit. But a few drinks, and it was right there under the surface… bubbled right up!
The video is hilarious!
Not going to lie, it cracked me up! It was exactly what I expected – Reese was drunk as hell and acting the fool. I have no trouble believing she sincerely regrets what she did if for no other reason than she’s mortified with embarrassment now. Oh my god and Jim begging her to calm down. Too funny.
“I AM AN AMERICAN CITIZEN!” I’m going to find reasons to use that line today – no matter how inappropriate. lol
Yes, it was funny.. but here’s the harsh reality about drunk driving, it doesn’t just put YOU in danger, it puts EVERYONE else on the road with you in danger. I am glad you all are able to find humour in this and now find her more ‘relatable’… at the end of the day, what she and her husband did is extremely dangerous.
You should have read the threads about this a few days ago, Felicia. They were brutal towards her husband and Reece. This is a little comic relief.
@Cordelia… I think everyone here knows the harsh realities of drunk driving. No one is condoning it or laughing about it. What people are laughing at is Reese’s behavior because it is hilarious. 😉
I don’t think she’s contrite because she’s sorry. I think she and her handlers are in damage control mode. I don’t know her, but as someone said upthread her husband’s reaction to her behavior is telling. He’s seen it many times before. I definitely think the whole “america’s sweetheart” is a facade.
Nope. I never have. I’ve never even seen any drunk person act that stupid in person, and I’ve been around plenty of drunk people.
And at 37 years old? And to a cop?! No times infinity.
It’s amazing to me how people find this ‘funny’ and give Reese a pass for being an entitled tw*t.
Just like others have said, had this been someone of color or of a different ethnicity, this ‘funny’ situation would have been the exact opposite of funny.
Just because she’s a celebrity and cute and “America’s Sweetheart”, doesn’t make ANY of her actions – verbal, mental or physical – cute or funny!
Being ok with your partner driving while CLEARLY intoxicated, is revolting. Mouthing off and throwing your fame around to an officer who is simply doing his job, is revolting. Preventing an officer(she physically got into his space) from completing a sobriety test and from doing his job, is revolting.
But you know, let it slide! She’s cute! She’s funny! She’s famous! Revolting.
Would you relax with pushing the race card on this thread, this has nothing to do with race but race hustlers will use any excuse to make it about race, white prilvage, give me a break, with if this was a person color, and what if …..you are actually to dense realize you’re the racist, assuming a persons behavior based on their race, in this case that of the police officer… racist..
There are a couple of websites that show police arrests and they even have ” people of color” , screaming , yelling at cops and they are given more then the 2 warning that Reece got before the hand cuffs came out.
There’s one last week that was on a few blogs of a New York subway arrest, where a black women had to literally hit the cop before he arrested her, even though she was screaming at the cops for 10 minutes while their were trying to place her friend under arrest.
@Sam, you are the one calling people dense and racist. It seems to me you are the dense one if you honestly believe we are in a “post-racial” America and you are either very lucky or don’t hang out around many people blessed with a little more melanin if you have never seen real, blatant racism.
None of us are saying that in every case where a minority is arrested they will be assaulted; we are making a generalization that quite often a white woman or even man will receive better treatment by police, in sentencing, etc.
They’ve released even more video, of the two of them talking in the car. She’s clearly wasted. Her husband comes off as the smart calm one. What does it say when one is impressed with how a drunk driver reacted in this situation vs. his wife.
“you made this worse. You should have just sat in the car and let me be arrested.”
“For what?!”
“A DUI”
Silence…..and then she changes the subject.
“well what did I get arrested for?”
“you wouldn’t listen to what he said to do and you kept getting out of the car, and now you’ve turned it into a absolute mess”
http://gawker.com/more-reese-witherspoon-arrest-footage-emerges-proves-s-489343571
She also starts yelling “I’M REESE WITHERSPOON” at the cop. Just awful.
MrsB
I wouldn’t brag about that. If that’s what you were into, then no wonder Reese’s drunkenness and poor behavior was fun to you.
Grown women with kids shouldn’t be that trashy. Actually, no-one over the age of 19 (the legal age where I’m from) should be that trashy.
@Turtle Dove
I’m sorry. I missed the part where I was bragging about anything? I was a bartender, and I made a fool of myself a few times and I saw MANY situations like this from people who you would NEVER expect to. In fact, I saw much worse on any given night. At least she wasn’t trying to beat on the police officer. I’m sure the police officer has dealt with worse as well. Aside from the drunk driving, no real harm was done. Hence the reason, I think it’s funny. I’ve seen it too many times. Some people just take stuff way too seriously.
No not everyone has gotten drunk and gotten into a car where they could have been killed or killed innocent people. No not everyone has disrespected a cop when drunk. Not funny at all. Her & her husband put innocent lives at risk. No excuse.
That was hilarious!! She wasn’t as obnoxious as I thought she’d be. “I’m an American citizen” lmao. The whole “do you know who I am” thing was stupid, but overall I enjoyed that.
Hilarious and it sounds better for her “live” than it did when quoted in the media.
Totally agree
Isn’t it a truism that the real person ~ not the public face or persona ~ comes out when we’re drunk?!?! Makes one think there’s something to the saying “get a man drunk to know his true temperament”
People always say this but, it absolutely is NOT true for me- and I’m sure others. When I am drinking I turn into the Mayor of the bar and am so much more affectionate. I have these super bonding friendship moments and then wake up the next morning like…WTF? I don’t even really LIKE her?! When I drink I am a different person.
Alcohol makes you less inhibited. For some cases, like RW’s, if she’s putting on a public face most of the time, when she’s drunk you see who she really is when her guard is up. I become far less shy and guarded when I’ve had a few. Very gregarious and super friendly. My best friends always say that they think the real me comes out when I’ve had some drinks. There might be some truth to that.
I can sympathize. I have been told that people know when I have been drinking because they can understand me better. Supposedly I try so hard to pronounce words correctly that they can tell.
Yup. “In vino veritas,” as the ancient Romans used to say.
“In wine, there is truth.”
I don’t think that’s true. And I haven’t really heard anyone say that since turning 21. I think that’s something teenagers say.
My grandma used to always say “a drunk man speaks a sober mind”, so it’s not relegated to teenagers.
I think it would be more correct to say that alcohol lowers inhibitions, so facets of a person’s nature they would ordinarily control or keep hidden can surface…
Ah, but alcohol doesn’t necessarily lower inhibitions as studies have shown that only applies to particular cultures. I find that a really interesting concept.
Sure, but I do believe it applies in American culture. The very idea that we think of drinking to “loosen up” points to this correlation. Want to argue that old Melly Mel misrepresented his true feelings, Sugar Tits? 😀
This would be much much funnier if I wasn’t so angered by the drunk driving aspect of it all. I am glad he pled guilty, I pray that the remorse is genuine and he never does it again.
Yeah, that’s my feeling too. The Reese part is hilarious – people say dumb stuff when drunk. But not the driving. Unacceptable.
I actually feel more for Toth from watching this video. They are both reprehensible for the drunk driving (he drove, but she enabled him), but at least he still had a modicum of respect and an awareness of what was taking place instead of being an entitled biotch.
Agree! I would say I felt incredulous watching this, not amused.
+1000
I don’t think it’s funny at all.
I don’t find any humor in it, either. It’s pathetic. Jim Toth is an ass for driving drunk. Reese “Do You Know Who I Am?!” Witherspoon is an even bigger ass for trying to throw her little privileged, harpoon-chinned, pansy-princess weight around.
Her face has always bothered me. It just bothers me even more now. I said it. I had to.
Her live public “apology” on Good Morning America didn’t strike me as being genuine at all. She still had that smug air of invincibility. A sort of, “Whoops, oh well, what’s done is done — can we all just forget about it and move on, then?” She and her PR folks are in damage control mode because she has a new movie coming out soon. Her transparency is so apparent.
I love how her husband was apologizing for her.
I really do feel sorry for him. Seems like he was still the one being put together while she was screaming and freaking out. The rumour that he has to go to rehab is just her trying to save her image. She just throws her husband under the bus like that. Poor man.
Feels hella staged.
That’s the same feeling I have. It just felt like a staged performance. I don’t really see Reese saying all that stuff. It sounded like a script. But why would they do that? Nobody came out looking good.
I honestly don’t see anything really bad about what she did or said.
You don’t find anything wrong with drunk driving, which she enabled, and disobeying an officer,
whole passive aggressively threatning with power? Like Hollywood >> salary man?
Nothing about this situation is ok.
I think that every person who defends, applauds or doesn’t see anything wrong in what she did is speaking from a place of privilege. Like the post says, a person of color would be on the ground for far less. Cops don’t mess around. But she abused her privilege right here. And embarrassed her husband who could tell she was over the line.
OMG. Everyone thinks drink driving is bad. But this is a gossip column, not a police blotter. Reese was funny.
Word. Also privilege comes with money and position. Cops, judges and lawyers drive drunk around here all the time. I HATE the hypocritical alchohol culture, they love alchohol above ALL things including consideration of other’s safety and they let their kids do it too. But it’s ok, because ‘everybody’s’ doing it.
Yes @Beth, I found it kind of funny too at first thought, but only because I was incredulous at how RIDICULOUS it was that a grown woman was behaving that way. I would give her more of a pass if she were 18 (even though I absolutely knew better at that age).
My husband is is a black man and he would have been tasered or beaten for those same actions. Putting it in that context, it doesn’t seem so funny to me.
@Jenny maybe the cop simply didn’t feel threatened enough by the 5 foot 1 inch tall female (Reese) that he thought she needed tazing. I witnessed an altercation between a black male and three cops at a traffic stop. He was larger and more muscular and younger than all three of them and had been threatening his fiance. He didn’t get tazed until after he had charged the cops and punched one of them in the face. He was talking to them quite animatedly and threateningly- much more so than Reese– before punching them and he did not get tazed until he physically assaulted one of them. While there are exceptions to every rule, I feel like for the most part, if you are being decent you will be treated decently no matter what color you are. I know lots of white people and have black people that I consider my family. I have never known a white person who feels in any way violent toward black people or wishes them ill in any capacity. And since my best friend is black, I have witnessed her tell her other black friends that “oh- she’s ok” in regard to me (because I’m white) as I’m being introduced. I just think that’s a very sad commentary on the state of affairs. I just wish the racial stuff would stop and people need to stop generalizing everything into a stereotype and stoking the flames.
Yea nothing wrong with getting in a car with a drunk driver. Jumping out of the car when first getting pulled over. Yelling and getting in the way during the sobriety tests (which is on the 3rd dash cam). After being asked to get back in the car, getting out again once your drunk driver husband is getting arrested. Not listening to the cop AGAIN when he tells you to get back in the car. And then acting SHOCKED when you get arrested for obstruction.
Yea, nothing wrong with that at all./sarcasm I didn’t find her funny at all-I found her to be a entitled brat.
I’m so glad you clarified that you were being sarcastic. I was confused until then.
I have a husband who is a cop, and we have kids to raise and I sure as hell don’t want his safety compromised while he’s trying to keep the public safe from drunk drivers. The cop in the videos is trying to maintain control of a situation that could easily get out of control. He doesn’t know Reese and her husband and what they are capable of. On one level he is simply trying to focus on the driver and needed Reese to stay in the car as a result. But it’s an safety issue as well, where a cop needs to keep the situation under control while he is outnumbered and make sure no one–like an unpredictable drunk-does something they will all regret later.
Exactly, Nina. Especially with the crazy, out of control situations cops have dealt with lately in Atlanta, he was a lot nicer than I would have been.
Yep. Even If I were drunk, (and I am – often), at the age of 30 I know to sit down and cooperate and protest LATER unless someone’s being beaten or something.
From this tape she clearly wasn’t too shitfaced to look straight into a camera.
Yep. Even If I were drunk, (and I am – often), at the age of 30 I know to sit down and cooperate and protest LATER unless someone’s being beaten or something.
From this tape she clearly wasn’t too shitfaced to look straight into a camera.
I think it’s ridiculous and I hope she learned her lesson, but I don’t hate her nor am I going to stop watching her movies. She just acted like a drunk idiot but at the end of the day no one got hurt and they both got punished. Moving on.
You see nothing wrong about her interfering in the duties of a duly appointed officer of the public who is attempting to do his job of protecting the public?
If she weren’t rich, would you say the same? What if she weren’t white? Or a woman? What about interfering in a cop’s duty to protect us makes it okay? This isn’t some horrible cop pepper spraying a peaceful protester. This is a cop doing precisely what cops are supposed to do.
What does race have to do with it, what if the police officer had been black, I guess they would have been shit out of luck , going with the logic of people trying to make this racial
And actually surprised he arrested her, what she was doing was pretty tame, there goes the white privilege .
And everyone here who doesn’t like people finding her silly and juvenile and getting a laugh out of her behaviour , have to keep bring up ” well if she wasn’t white she would have probably been tasered, No she wouldn’t have , it is very clear that he was never threatened , and it’s called excessive force and the cop is very aware that everything he does is on camera
.. And actually he probably would have even been nicer if they were black and famous because they would have been screaming racist police officer the minute they were put in hand cuffs and he would want to make sure he was above criticism .
@Ava. Don’t assume you know what would come out of the mouth of a black person who was being arrested. U clearly know nothing and are not interested in knowing anything that doesn’t fit your point of view.
That dash cam was so funny and hilarious especially w/ her husband “defending” her or lack thereof.
Also:
As for Reese’s punishment… only $213 for mouthing off to a cop? Only $213 for refusing a direct order from an officer arresting a drunk driver? I wonder how differently this whole situation would have gone down if Reese and Jim were African-American. Someone would have gotten tasered, at the very least.
So much truth in this that it hurts.
The ticket cost doesn’t surprise me. It’s a pretty mild situation, all things considering. It’s not like she was screaming at him, swinging at him, being physically aggressive, etc. It’s a pretty low-level disorderly conduct situation.
^^This. I’m not defending her… but as far as ‘crimes’ go, I’ve heard of people who do much worse and get off fairly easy (IMO). This seems to be in line with what any average person would get in the same circumstances. No, Reese didn’t listen and stay in the car… but she also wasn’t screaming and freaking out. She didn’t resist when he cuffed her… allowed herself to be easily led back to the car once she was cuffed. She just kept saying dumb stuff… not threatening or offensive really, just dumb.
IMO, police officers react to a situation depending on how threatened they may or may not feel… and how much potential a situation has to spiral out of control. This officer obviously didn’t like Reese getting out of the car… and seemed to be very cautious in dealing with it, but he didn’t appear to feel very threatened. He didn’t know who Reese was, and I don’t think she got some sort of special treatment (other than being allowed to look down in her mugshot… wth was that?).
Not going to get into how maddening the whole thing is again, but I just have to say how much I love that Atlanta PD released the video yesterday. Coincidental timing? I think not . . .it seems like the biggest “FU” to Reese ever, and I love that it comes out on the heels of her interview.
As I predicted, community service and nothing else for Toth, and a pittance fine for Reese, who probably pays more to have her hair done regularly. This whole country really needs a shake-up in the way it penalizes drunk drivers.
I just can’t believe how fast they got their day in court. Usually this stuff drags on and on. H*ll, if they were from a lower socio-economic class they might still be in jail.
Reese wasn’t driving so I can see her fine. She was fined for being drunk stupid obnoxious and entitled. But someone needs to sit Toth’s drunk-ass down and make him realize that his actions are unforgivable – small fine or no.
Sorry but thats not true at all. When you are arrested you will always see a judge right away for an arraignment hearing. Usualy its the day of so you don’t spend the night in jail, but its at least the next morning and the maximum in any state is 48 hours. For a DUI you almost always get sent home unless you are still drunk. For something like murder the prosecutor might ask that you not get to go home because you are dangerous. Then a court date is sent, but toth got it taken care of so quick because HE DIDN”T get his day in court, he just pled guilty. Since that frees up prosecutors for trials against other guys, there is usually an incentive there.
tldr- no one would still be in jail, and he didn’t get his day in court. (which is good- i think he should plead guilty)
@CF the 48 hour rule you’re talking about is to make an initial plea and for the judge to set the bail amount. They don’t just send people home for drunk driving because in most states (if not all), even for first time offenses, the range of punishment at its minimum is more than 48 hours. So, plenty of people do sit in jail for a long time, if they can’t make bond, and they receive credit for time served if found guilty or upon a guilty plea.
@CF, unfortunately what you say is not the case. The arraignment hearing is always held right away (unless over the weekend), but if a person is held on bail and does not have the means to pay they will stay in jail until the trial. Sadly there are stories of people waiting in jail for years before their trial, though not necessarily for drunk driving, but possibly something as small as a drug charge.
Check out the backlog at the Bronx courthouse in NYC. Years of victims waiting for justice or innocent people waiting for redemption. Horrible either way you look at it. It is really nice to have the means to not be in that situation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/nyregion/justice-denied-bronx-court-system-mired-in-delays.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
CF, like others have said this is NOT TRUE. The initial arraignment does occur quickly, but the actual appearances and sentencing are often spread out over time. And if you can’t make bail…well, you spend more time in jail.
Although I was exaggerating for effect when I said you’d still be in jail, because that’s not typically the case – most people will be out faster. Although I’m sure it’s happened before.
Even if you plead guilty it can be several weeks before you appear in court for your case.
Although I agree that it’s good when courts can efficiently clear dockets, in many cases drunk driving cases can and do go on for months.
If not on probation for other crimes, a person can typically plead to these lower level crimes, or DUI, during their arraignment. In-custody arraignments are usually next day. Out of custody ones are usually within a week or so. Their case seems to have proceeded pretty normally.
When you are arrested you will always see a judge right away for an arraignment hearing.
Unless you’re in Guantanamo Bay, in which case you might be locked up indefinitely without due process, even after you’ve been cleared to leave.
“I 100% tried ,i have nothing to do with that(Reese”)!!priceless!!lol!
I wonder what she’s going to say to him now for not having her back!
Faye, I’m sure it was released because pleas were entered in both cases that morning, so the tapes didn’t have to be withheld anymore. I’m sure Reese scheduled the GMA interview to coincide with the plea deal.
I caught that too! Pretty sad when your husband tells the police he has nothing to do with your behavior lol.
They both sold each other out pretty quickly eh?
No surprise from an agent and an A-lister right
I just can’t get over how quickly they sold each other out.
Frankly, she doesn’t sound drunk at all to me. She doesn’t seem scared at all, just indignant that her husband is getting arrested. And is she lying about being pregnant? Now her husband sounds wasted, which is truly frightening. I can’t imagine letting someone like that drive me home. Drunk or not, though, he is still trying to get her to shut up.
I didn’t think she sounded drunk at at either. Judging by the way her husband reacted to it, I think she talks that way to everyone all the time.
As for her husband she should be glad someone pulled them over one of them or both of them could have been killed by his actions or he could have taken another life.
Agreed, I think his reaction would be a lot different if her behavior were out of character.
I didn’t think she sounded drunk either. I didn’t hear any slurring of her words?
We all sound different when drunk. I can be drunk but still speak clearly . . . it’s just that what comes out is nonsense, like the situation here.
I posted it upthread, but they’ve released another video of them talking in the car. She’s clearly wasted.
Folks say she threw him under the bus. I think he threw her. “Sorry, I have nothing to do with that”. He was at least trying to cooperate. She went totally nuts..”I’m pregnant,..I’m an American”?!?
If they had not been capable of harming others with their drunken behavior, it would be funny. Well, it was funny any way because the cop did his job and prevented that.
This still makes me so mad.She is the distracting officer and putting him in a unsafe position.Her crazy “funny“drunk tirade still does not excuse her or the husband.If this happen outside a bar or club it would be funny but it beyond stupid especially for parents.ugh rant over.
I love how her husband is telling her and mouthing at her to stop throughout the whole stupid rant, and then apologizes for her. They’re both absolute idiots for drunk driving, but despite being obviously more intoxicated he’s the one who managed to stay in control when pulled over. So which one is apparently headed to rehab?
She didn’t seem even remotely ‘panicked’, she just seemed like an entitled bitch. Also, otherwise nice people don’t generally get to that sort of idiocy before they’re ‘can’t stand up, barely intelligible, one drink away from needing their stomach pumped’ drunk. I don’t think that’s even drunk Reese coming out, that’s just what she’s like when challenged.
These two idiots can shove it, but I do feel badly for her kids on the way to school today.
She doesn’t sound THAT drunk, she’s not slurring, she’s speaking in coherent sentences. Is this the real Reese coming out?
I don’t even want to watch it. I just hope they’ve learned some big lessons from it, it never happens again, and that she’s not pregnant if she was drunk. And yes, the penalties for drunk driving are ridiculous, and if they were not a middle-aged white couple there’s a good chance they would have been treated differently (though I don’t want to accuse this officer of anything.)
AMEN, Sister.
OK how about her husband saying “I had nothing to do with that” Bwahahahaa
He’s such a PR guy.
Her husband’s comment, though appropriately meek when being cuffed by the police, made him sound like he’s totally whipped–has no influence whatsoever on Reese. And yes, she sounded like an entitled bitch.
HAHAHAHAhahahah she’s never living this down.
She’s not yelling. As per usual her “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM” quote isn’t exactly what she said. If anything, it seems like the cop is like ‘Tiny people, STFU’.
LOL.
I’m hopping on the “I don’t think she’s drunk” train. She just sounded pissed.
If she wasn’t drunk she would have been driving. Some people don’t slur when they are drunk- able to hide it. Others are slurring after one full drink.
Who’s to say her husband doesn’t always drive? I think she may have had 1 or 2 drinks, but I don’t think she was drunk. That’s all.
Ehh..she had to have been somewhat drunk to be saying all that “I’m an American citizen” nonsense.
Drunk on power? Ego?
I don’t like to watch people in this state. I get too embarrassed for them (but for some reason I don’t have a problem reading about it.)
This is weird to we Aussies. “She was pissed, not drunk”… In Australia, to be “pissed” means one is drunk. On the other hand, to be really angry is to be “pissed off”. I had to read your post twice to make sure I understood. English is a funny language.
Full transcript:
“I’d like to know what’s going on,” Reese demands.
“He’s under arrest. If you don’t get back in the car…” the officer replies.
“I’m a US citizen! I’m allowed to stand on American ground and ask any question I want to ask. You better not arrest me,” she threatens.
“Yes ma’am,” the officer says while pulling her hands behind her back.
“Are you kidding me?! I’m an American citizen,” Reese argues.
“I told you to get in that car there, didn’t I?” he says.
“This is beyond. This is beyond. This is harassment. You’re harassing me as an American citizen. I have done NOTHING against the law,” she says.
Reese’s husband is then heard saying her name, trying to calm her down.
After the officer tells her she broke the law she exclaims, “I have to obey your orders? No sir, I do not.”
“Reese, not tonight,” Jim pleads. “Reese, Reese. Relax.”
“I’m now being arrested and handcuffed? Do you know my name, sir?” Reese asks.
“Don’t need to know,” the officer replies.
“You don’t need to know my name?” she asks.
“Not quite yet,” he says.
“Oh, really? Okay, you’re about to find out who I am,” she says.
“That’s fine. I’m not real worried about you ma’am,” he says. “I done told you how things work. You wanna get out and get up in my investigation, that’s okay.”
“Yes sir, I do,” Reese snarks back.
“We have a law for that,” he explains. “It’s called obstruction.”
“I’m obstructing your justice? Really? I’m being anti-American?” Reese says as the officer puts her back in the car and says, “Go ahead and sit down.”
“Wow! Interesting, arresting me,” Reese muses to herself.
“I tried,” the cop says to Jim as he walks back out.
“I’m sorry,” Jim responds.
“I absolutely one hundred percent tried,” the cop continues.
“I had nothing to do with that,” Jim is heard saying.
Yup. This transcript just proves she’s a ass.
Never mind that he clearly didn’t arrest her the first 2 or 3 times she did this. He stayed calm and professional (and I say this as someone who isn’t a fan of cops generally) She’s the ‘wronged’ one because its ‘funny’.
Whatever, she’s an ass.
“Reese, not tonight,” Jim pleads. “Reese, Reese. Relax.”
This is very telling.
I listened to that part a couple of times and I could never hear him saying “not tonight.” Am I the only one?
This right here. I couldn’t stop rereading that part.
“Reese NOT tonight?”
Very telling indeed.
OMG the cop pulled you over! STFU and don’t argue. Wow is she entitled and stupid.
“Excuse me what’s going on?”
What the phuck does it look like? He’s getting arrested. Shut up and get back in the car.
That cop did his job. He doesn’t know them. One he’s checking out and the other gets out of the car? He doesn’t know if she has a gun or anything.
In People magazine “Jim gets loud and obnoxious when he drinks it’s embarrasing for Reese ” I’m reading it in the store
My friend and I were discussing this today– Jim totally had “the husband face” on. I see this face when my husband thinks I’m being annoying/sassy/whatever.
He had the “here she goes again” face.
“Not tonight” is right. He probably sees something like this more often than not.
I like how this transcript is written as a narrative piece.
Totally agree Reese was an ass, and the officer handled the situation calmly and appropriately.
That said, I think the transcript makes Reese sound as if she was yelling and/or really being threatening. Hearing her say the words, I don’t think she was quite as belligerent as the transcript makes it seem. Yes, she was wrong… and dumb and saying dumb things, but wasn’t screaming or freaking out. As I posted somewhere above, I don’t think she was treated any differently by the officer than someone else would have been treated. The officer was cautious with her, but he didn’t seem to feel very threatened by her…. which I believe dictates how officers react in these situations. If they feel threatened or that they are losing control of a situation… or people are screaming at them (or each other), or resisting when being cuffed… then things quickly go from calmly cautious to seriously nasty and the taser comes out.
Why am I the only one that seems to have a problem with the public release of the dash cam?
Reece still hasn’t posed naked or had a nude photo “leak” like Blake Lively so she still gets to be holier-than-thou on THAT subject. (It would be amazing if Blake L. now conveniently got super active with MADD).
Reece W. has always acted openly anal and persnickety. Why did anyone EVER think she was America’s Sweetheart?!
Police officers release footage like this all the time to educate people. Also, she’s a douchebag who doesn’t deserve her pristine reputation. This is how she behaves. “I didn’t do anything illegal!” Does something illegal.
Learn about your laws people! Obey an officer. Don’t drive drunk.
Also, in many states they are considered public records unless a gag order has been placed by a judge.
Believing she’s superior is a big part what got Reese into this mess. Hopefully she’s been humbled a bit. Hopefully she never has her emails or phone hacked. There’s probably some colourful stuff in there as well.
“Why did anyone EVER think she was America’s Sweetheart?!”
Because she’s a very good ACTRESS. On screen and off.
I don’t know if I’d call her a very good actress. Maybe an actress but I don’t think I’d go as far as to say very good on or off the screen. She comes across as a big B off screen and a little less of a big B on screen…so she can act…just not as much as we’d like to credit her. I think she got the American Sweetheart image from the Man in the Moon flick she was in as a kid…she was cute and young and we all wanted to protect her…that image just stuck.
Yes, you are.
Um… posing for naked pictures for your boyfriend, or anyone else, does not endanger the public. That Reese was EVER holier-than-thou about it is what clued me in to the fact that not only is she not as perfect as she pretends (duh, she’s a celebrity), but that she is a bad person.
There are a couple guys in the world who have naked pictures of me, unless they destroyed them when they got married, as I did with my pictures of them. And my husband has a slew of pictures of me. When Little Miss Perfect here slut-shamed Blake Lively, she slut-shamed me and I think, in this day and age, most women — heck, most people Reese’s own age and younger.
Since no one got hurt, I am loving this fall from grace. I have never gotten in the way of a cop trying to do his job, nor have I ever let anyone drive drunk if I had the power to prevent it. Even when I was in college, I didn’t get in the car with any drunk drivers. Reese might think all that’s required to be a “good girl” is to hew to outdated sexual mores, and mouthing off to cops and endangering people’s lives is just peachy, but she’s finding out she’s wrong.
Emily, totally agree. I had forgotten all about how she made that slam against Blake Lively.
Anyway, she went topless in that Twilight movie she did years ago. Maybe I just don’t get it, but I don’t see how personal nude photos you take for yourself or partner are any better than getting paid to take off your clothes for a movie.
she inferred in her “apology” that she was fearful for her husband. That would be motivation enough to show the video publicly to dispel any implications that the officier acted in a way that was threatening. It’s clear her husband was not being bullied, and that she herself was not scared but indignant and drunk.
@Apples, now that I think about it I bet they released it to show that the police did not act inappropriately. Being famous, Reese has multiple opportunities to tell her side of the story to the world and just in case she was the type of person to smear the police (which I don’t think she is) they released it to protect themselves probably.
i AM wondering if she IS pregnant but just saying she’s not because of the drinking… hmmm. Also were they really in a Ford Focus? Cuz, lol.
This reminds me so much of her scene at the bar in “Sweet Home Alabama” where she is drunk and belligerent. Right down to her accent becoming more pronounced.
I noticed her accent, too, and am wondering if it becomes more pronounced when she’s drunk, or if she deliberately turned it up in an attempt to gain some sympathy with the officer.
If you’re from a place with a strong regional accent/dialect, it does become more pronounced the more intoxicated or tired you are.
I’m from Dallas and normally have only a very slight accent, but drunk or tired? HOOOOOWHEEEEE it comes out.
Haha… I hadn’t thought of that, but you are right! 😉
Amazing how quickly and quietly they got their cases resolved. I have always been neutral about Reese, until now. The video is the real person, I believe. And it’s not pretty and sweet. Her fans may stick with her, but that entitled rant will likely turn off a lot of people.
She was treating him like he was the help. “Excuse me? What is going on here?” Talking down to him, giving him attitude. Like, are you seriously angry that your husband is not allowed to drive drunk?? How DARE an officer do his job? He tells her in the pregnant video to sit down or he will arrest her. He warned her. She challenged him. She seriously believed that she was above the law because of her celebrity status and because she’s white and in Georgia.
Anyone who defends this situation needs to open their eyes and think a little bit. The worst car accidents are provoked by idiots like this who think it’s fine to drive after drinking. You don’t have to be WASTED to be impaired and provoke a death. Two drinks are enough. Of course we know that this guy definitely drank a lot more because he blew twice the legal limit.
One of my high school friends was killed by a drunk driver. He was 16. 16!! His head ended up on the back seat. Because some middle aged ahole had to drink before driving, his life ended right there. Jim will see videos and pictures of accidents like this in his court ordered class. He might even have to check out bodies at a morgue. Those classes do not mess around. They show you awful things.
Now… When you say you see nothing wrong in what she did you are defending a person who thinks it’s her ~american right to do whatever she pleases, including getting into a car with a very drunk man that was driving in the wrong lane (you see the level of drunkness here?), and disrespecting an officer for doing his job. What? you can do whatever you want because you’re upper class? Eff everyone else you’re endangering? You have to stay in the car when the officer is arresting someone. Why is that so hard to understand? Because you’re Reese Witherspoon and the law is for little people, you’re VIP? Don’t get in an officer’s face. You know you did something illegal. Let him do his job.
That interview when she’s laughing and smiling while talking about it was beyond inappropriate. Like it was just such a charming story, Reese, you’re adorable! Lulz!! No biggie! We all make mistakes! He he!
You only understand how awful and serious this is when you see the effects of drunk driving for yourself. I hope none of you ever find out, but I hope you are more conscious about the issue here. They both wanted to get away with drunk driving.
That Office showed a lot of class during that situation. And even Jim Toth seemed contrite. I have no sympathy for Reese, none at all.
Me neither. You see hot messes like Lindsay or Amanda Bynes, and you know they’re trouble. But Reese has this superiority complex, always judging women in Hollywood. That speech at the MTV movie awards telling girls to hide their faces after leaking nude pictures…
I’ve said this before but I’d rather have a nude picture of me leak in which I look hot, than a dash video leak in which I look like an entitled, rude, drunk bitch.
She has been known to be entitled, obnoxious, bitchy for a long time. Time that mask was ripped off.
Annie, I really couldn’t say anything more perfectly than you did, so I’ll just give your post two thumbs up. I think we’re in the same boat in that, having lost someone close to drunk driving, you really understand the full impact of that “little mistake” and you know there’s nothing funny about it.
The saddest thing to me is not so much what Reese and her husband did and how they acted (was anyone really surprised by that?), but at how many people are rushing to defend her, and how many more people are, as you say, viewing this as a cute little indiscretion to laugh off. In the first post on this topic last week, someone said something like as a Southern housewife who enjoys some chardonnay every now and then, she didn’t think it was a big deal and encouraged Reese to get a cab next time because it was cheaper than going to court. Then she added a 🙂 emoticon. I don’t think she was joking, either, and I don’t think she’s the only one like that. I think there are a lot of people, including wives and mothers, who drink and drive and view it as a little indiscretion. And they are Reese’s fans and will feel more tied to her, not less, because of this incident. It honestly floors me.
I don’t even support the one glass rule. If you’re driving, you don’t drink. Period. If you can’t do without “one little drink”, you have a problem.
Heebeegeebee ~ I agree with you. I will NOT drive anywhere even after one drink. Mostly because I feel like if I ever got into an accident that wasn’t even my fault, it sure would become my fault then.
Good post Annie. I’m sorry about your friend.
You said it wonderfully.
“She was treating him like he was the help”.
Exactly – I listed to the audio and throughout the incident, her tone of voice said “How dare YOU, a little nobody, tell ME what to do! Don’t you know that I am so much more important than you!” Extremely obnoxious.
Really, @Jules, you know it? Then you know we are talking about a place where many people still proudly fly a Confederate as opposed to an American flag. Not saying all white people in Georgia actively think this way; it is subconscious and pervasive in the culture of many areas of the deep South.
I’m surprised he husband didn’t lose his license…usually, that’s common.
Not for a first offense, and where there was no accident/injury.
Sadly, there are still people driving around out there who have had multiple DUIs.
Wow. I didn’t realise America was so lenient. In the UK, a drink driving conviction will see you banned for a year. A second offence within the next 10 years will net you a ban of between 2 and 3 years.
It depends on the state. In D.C., a first offense for drunk driving = alcohol education classes, therapy focused on quitting drinking, and a breathalizer installed in your car that you have to blow into if you want the ignition to start. That last part is especially good, because you can manage to drive without a license, but you can’t drive if your car won’t start.
Actually, I’ve known a couple here in California who got DUIs without being in an accident – just got pulled over like Jim did – and they lost their liscence for at least 6 mo, had to take alcohol education classes, and do community service. So no you don’t have to be in an accident to get your liscence taken away, at least in Ca anyways, maybe it’s different in Georgia.
Wow…I didn’t know it varied so much. Everyone I know who has gotten their first DUI usually loses their license for 6 months.
She doesn’t sound that drunk, she just sounds like an arrogant bitch.
ugh, like cops don’t have enough crap to deal with. I’ve seen dash camera videos which show what can happen when a cop isn’t able to keep control of a situation where he is outnumbered-some end with the poor officer getting shot and killed.
So on top of her compromising everyone’s safety with her behavior, she also makes it clear that his peon ass will pay for what he’s doing cause she’s special. I don’t think she’s even drunk really-just entitled and clearly superior in her mind to some blue collared peon.
Thanks Jim and Reece, The profits from the video are a very, very nice addition to the city fund. Please come visit more often! But don’t drive drunk in our town again.
Omg Jim’s ‘but I had nothing to do with that’ made me crack up, that was hilarious. If Reese had more of a presence I think it would have gone differently, if she weren’t so short in stature and had been more mouthy (she was a drunk rambling, nothing threatening). I’m pretty sure the officer likened her to gnat, he ignored it for as long as possible and then ran out of patience. However if Jim, who is more the cops equal, had been in his face and mouthy he would have been handled with a lot more aggression and shut down immediately. Stop playing the race card. It’s as simple as the cop wasn’t feeling threatened by Reese and Jim was acting correctly, race doesn’t play an issue in this.
You noticed he waited till the cop had her handcuffed and in the car, before saying he was sorry and he has nothing to do with his wife’s nasty attitude.
Doesn’t excuse his driving drunk though.
Race and gender both DEFINITELY play a part. A black man would most likely not be treated the same as RW or JT in the same scenario. I have seen black men (or men of any darker complexion, for that matter) be treated far worse for far less.
I am all for tempering the use of the race card, but in America race is an issue inextricably linked with police treatment and incarceration, no ifs ands or buts.
So you know for a fact if they had been a black couple that the cop would have treated them differently? If you don’t know that for a fact, leave the race card out of it and deal with the issue at hand and the facts we have. Reese acted horribly and was treated as such. Jim wasn’t treated badly because he stood there the entire time and listened to the officer but was still arrested and charged. End of story.
As a white woman, I’ve been treated far worse for literally nothing, and seen white men treated badly also for literally nothing. Race, maybe, but I’m wondering how much age had to do with it. Someone in their late 30s is gonna be treated a lot better than someone in their early 20s.
And maybe this cop is also a really good cop and we shouldn’t project what bad cops do onto him.
I absolutely believe that Reese’s race and gender played into this whole thing. In addition, I think that the madonna/whore thing added to this too. Reese positioned herself as the upright, do-right representation of American womanhood publicly for many years. She likely felt that this should’ve counted for more than it did and because she has sheltered herself from the greater world, it likely came as a shock that cops would look past that and focus on demeanor, body language and any other tells necessary to evaluate the situation.
How in the world can anyone make such a judgement… that race had anything to do with anything in this situation???
This constant use of the ‘race card’, trying to find unfairness or bigotry where there is none does not help anyone…least of all those who may be genuine victims of discrimination.
What happens when one raises false alarms repeatedly, or keeps crying wolf? Exactly. When there really is a problem, everyone is completely desensitized and sick of hearing it and REAL issues aren’t taken seriously.
Less about race, more about celebrity.
I wondered about this too. I get the impression that the arresting officer did not know who Reese was… but by the time she had her mugshot taken, it was obviously known. The mugshot pic is a joke… of her looking down?? LOL
Of course I don’t know for a fact, that is why I said most likely. If you check statistics, whether it be incarceration rates for similar crimes, application of the death penalty, sentencing, you would see where I am coming from and why it is not crying wolf to say that there is discrimination in the criminal justice system; to not recognize those facts is to be naive. Those are the reasons I say race is inextricably linked to these issues.
Here in NYC the stop and frisk policy is applied unevenly towards minorities. 98% of those stopped have committed literally no other crime than being black or Hispanic.
I don’t look to pull the “race card,” and in this case race and gender do play a part because RW has the privilege attached to being a white woman.
I agree with you, Jenny. And it’s everywhere, not just in the US. I got off the train two weeks ago in a Sydney suburb. When I reached the concourse, there were 7 or 8 cops and dogs sniffing certain people before they could leave the station. I guess some of us looked too respectable to bother with, so they didn’t come near us. But the younger ones, girls and boys, had their balls, bums and bags thoroughly sniffed. I know plenty of young people who live a straighty 180 life, and equally as many who regularly use and sell all kinds of drugs, and most of them look very respectable. Go to our airports and watch carefully at the people who are “randomly selected” for frisking and testing for explosives… Very telling.
In any case, these two people were dealt with in the appropriate manner, and belabouring on whether they should have been dealt with more harshly is ridiculous. Yes, she had a rant. So what? I’ve never been in trouble with the cops, but citizens, whether you like it or not, do have rights (at least here they do) even when spoken to by cops, and if the need ever arises, I’ll exercise those rights. Harsher penalties do not work in most cases, anyway. It seems that her obstruction charge carries a mandatory fine, and that’s what she got. His charges, though, are under the discretion of the presiding judge, and he was best placed to administer the appropriate penalty, and likely took into account his guilty plea. All this conjecture is futile. Thanks.
@Storyteller– I’m a bartender in the suburbs, an affluent suburb, and unfortunately there are lots of mothers in their late 30’s who get in the car w/drunk drivers, drive themselves drunk, etc. It’s not funny…but what IS funny is when the tennis MILFs come in and get hammered and make out with young guys b/c it’s “Girls Night Out”. Their husbands just don’t pay enough attention to them. At least Reese has a “go team!” attitude towards her marriage. Haha
Is she actually pregnant and that drunk?
She’s probably fibbing and surprised she didn’t start crying.
I think this is mentioned in the article above… when speaking about her arrest on GMA, she said that she told them she was pregnant, though she is not… claimed she said all kinds of ‘crazy things’.
Can I just say that this video kind of makes me like her even more than I already did?
Why? Her husband doesn’t even seem to like her with his “Reese, not tonight.” And ” sorry I had nothing to do with that.” Comments. She’s a total Bitch and I bet he’s as miserable as her first husband was when he was stuck with her.
Exactly. How can this make her seem likable? She seems so full of herself and is so condescending to the cop. Also, she doesn’t seem that drunk. What comes across is this is her normal personality. IMO it’s not likable in any way.
@Lol and Lemon – See what I wrote above in response to Annie’s post. From reading people’s comments, I think there are a lot of women — especially middle or upper middle class Southern white women — who identified with Reese anyway. They probably also do quite a bit of drinking and driving while socializing, so they feel tied to her now because they have something in common, and they like her more now. To quote one of the commenters in an earlier post: “I sympathize because I’m a Southern mother who likes a glass or two of chardonnay now and then.” These women think that because they drink expensive wine in a nice glass before they drive, it makes them somehow better than the bums drinking cheap scotch out of a bottle in the bad parts of downtown. Look, even Reese does it, isn’t it funny? No, it isn’t. She and her husband are awful for endangering lives and so are you.
Can I just say this video makes me hate her even more than I already did?
I never understood Reese Witherspoon fans. Now I don’t understand them even more.
So let me get this straight, UK’s ‘Daily Mail’, Reese and her PR throw her husband under the bus by calling him “a loud and obnoxious drunk”? Huh.
No, Reese–I think you showed America who you ARE. Amazing how all HW’s “sweethearts” shoved down our throats.. well, are total opposite of sweethearts. Code.
I love how her OWN husband is all: “I had nothing do do with that” when she finally sits in the car in the first video. That’s loyalty right there! ^^
Who knew Reese was so patriotic.
LOL!!!!
ROTFL
All I have to say to this is I hope she isn’t pregnant and she was just looking for an excuse to not do as she was told.. FAS is nothing to joke about.
Ah, to be privileged and white. If she wasn’t famous or if she was any other race her ass would have been sitting in a jail cell for talking to a cop like that.
Well, I am not an American citizien, but can somebody tell me whats all the “I am an American citizien” is about? Did she think that the police would say “well, we thought you were a Canadian tourist, but now we know that you’re an American citizien everything is ok?”
That was another troubling statement. Like, “you guys are only supposed to use force with illegals! I’m a CITIZEN.”
Is this whole redneck belief that Muuuurica is a place where everything is legal because you were born here and you can’t tell me what to do because I’m an American in America. It’s so dumb. Laws are for everyone!
No. I don’t think it’s about Americans being better than people from other countries. I think for many people the “I’m an American citizen” stuff Reese was spouting is about standing up for their rights against the police. For example, I know people who are always mouthy with the police when they are pulled over “Why did you pull me over?” They see it as statist control over their lives via jackbooted police thugs (see Alex Jones for more of this thinking.) Lots of people won’t cooperate in even the most innocuous seeming situation without a search warrant. While I would never mouth off to the cops I agree with the latter. We have those rights for a reason. Bottom line, I suspect Reese’s “I’m an American” rant was part of that thinking. Lots of Southerners are like that.
Felicia, WOW! Agree with everything you said 100%
Felicia has it right.
Felicia. These types will spout the “I’m an American Citizen” even when they’re in another country. I’ve seen it here in the UK. It’s as if being American somehow puts them above everyone else, and exempts them from UK laws. This certainly doesn’t apply to all Americans of course, but I’ve seen it a fair few times.
@Felicia: THIS.
I, too, wouldn’t dream of mouthing off to the police, but we have nothing to gain by throwing our rights away willy nilly. We should know our rights and be unafraid to exercise them.
Police came to my door recently (while doing a welfare check on an elderly neighbor), so I politely came outside, shut the door behind me, and had a conversation with them on my porch. Easy peasy. Although I have absolutely zero to hide, the police don’t need to be in my house or car without a warrant.
White privilege at it’s finest. I don’t even think she was drunk, she just came off like a flucking entitled brat.
Yeah. She seemed more like an asshole than a drunk asshole. I really hope this knocks her down a peg or ten.
She actually pulled the “Do you know who I am?” card. I kinda feel it doesn’t get any more priggish than that.
Drunk or not, I have the feeling this is not the first time she has mouthed off to someone and felt very entitled to do so. I would love to be a fly on the wall when Reese and Toth get into an argument, because she seems to fight to win. It is her way or the highway. Unfortunately, she has two kids who are old enough to see this on the internet,as well as their friends, and I feel bad for them. I wonder what they are thinking?
I didn’t believe she was drunk before but the video just confirmed it for me.
“Reese, not tonight,” Jim pleads. “Reese, Reese. Relax.”
This is very telling of what goes on at home.
yeah, reese not tonight means this happens on the regular, either her being difficult or sloppy drunk difficult.
That was so funny…not the crime obviously..but don’t we all just love watching the mighty fall? As for the whole “white privilege” conversation..UGH! I don’t get that at ALL…they were both arrested…but I guess that wasn’t enough?
You need to google white privilege.
One of the top hits:
http://ted.coe.wayne.edu/ele3600/mcintosh.html
This is an eye-opening piece. It can be quite uncomfortable for white people to confront this type of realization, but it is so necessary.
She seems more panicked than drunk.
I’ve seen ordinary people act much worse and also play the “do you know who I am?” card under similar circumstances, all the while oblivious to the fact that they’re being videotaped.
Definitely panicking, her voice has an edge to it as she runs through her litany of possible excuses…American, pregnant…she was trying desperately to see what might stick and change the situation.
Although I wonder what she was planning to do if the officer bought her “I’m pregnant and need to use the restroom.” Was she hoping they could make a break for it?
The edge in her voice isn’t one of panic, it’s one of entitlement.
If you listen to the latest recording released by TMZ, she says the “I’m Reese Witherspoon” and the “You’re going to be in the national news” line as if that’s going to make the officer say “Wait, you’re Reese Witherspoon? Well hell, let me take those handcuffs off of you and let you go on your pretty, merry, famous way”.
She was NOT panicking, she was being an entitled assh*le who felt she was above the law because of her fame.
“I’m an American” is code for ‘I’m White.’ Obnoxious, entitled, bitch. Anyone who thinks this is funny is an enabler of this type of celeb bad behavior and believe me when I say that a black couple, celebs or not, would have been treated quite differently. Someone would have gotten tasered or physically assaulted. And that’s no race card, that is the truth.
I think that’s a backwards attitude towards race. There are smart people – black, white or other – who would not harass or cop. Or better yet, even try to drive drunk.
And at the same time there are some really dumb people – black, white or other – who can and would pull the American citizen card. Aka you’re violating my rights as as American citizen! I want my lawyer attitude!
Reese is certainty entitled as a celebrity, but I think its crazy unfair to claim that white people and black people are somehow so different they would act different in this situation. Dumb is dumb and smart is smart, no matter your race!
“I’m an American” is code for ‘I’m White.’
LOL! It’s not funny but it is because really only Southern white people use that line. Especially now a days. It’s not to say other races aren’t patriotic but a lot of rednecky Southerners use the “I’m white” card as if whatever they’re doing makes them above negative consequences
Saying “I am American” is NOT a code for “I am white”. Many Americans are not white at all; in fact, whites are statistically becoming a minority in America.
Stop reading racism into everything.
What an entitled bitch.
Anyone remember those rumors about her husband possibly being abusive? I remember some skepticism about him always being referred to as “protective” like it was a code word for something. All of that’s blown out of the water if this video is any representation of how they interact.
All I can say is that, some years ago my dad and I went to Texas and he got pull over for speeding.He got out and I did too, the trooper did not have a problem with it. I guess it depends on the situation and the state?
The husband is in handcuff she’s his wife she’s wants to ask questions. I would have said ” stand over there so I can see you, stay calm and I will answer your questions. failure to do so I’ll have to arrest you for obstruction” no? to SERVE and protect?
Police officers have gotten killed during traffic stops, especially when the driver is intoxicated. The cop didn’t know who Reese was. She could have been on drugs, had a gun, capable of doing some kind of harm – how was he to know? If he had to deal with her, he couldn’t have focused on the sobriety test. She should have just stayed in the car. No excuses.
Yeah, you could tell the officer was on high alert. I thought he handled the whole thing really well.
He was SERVING the public by getting a drunk off the road. Safety is first priority here and a drunk person needs to be isolated when they are being combative like that, it’s best for everyone involved. Look what happened when she didn’t stay in the car-she ended up acting like an idiot and getting arrested. It’s not her place to ask questions, she should have asked herself and her husband the question whether they should call a cab or not. Once they decided to break the law, it’s out of her hands and she needs to sit her ass back in the car and shut up.
OMG!! At the end, Toth throws her under the bus!!!”
He so did!! Um I would argue he had EVERYTHING to do with the situation. He should be apologizing for HIMSELF for committing the real crime. God celebrities are such fakes – even her husband is only looking out for himself. Just when you start thinking celebs have it made you realize they’re disgusting shallow narcissists. Makes my honest hardworking home life seem like the real dream come true!
So she lets someone who’s clearly drunk drive a car, disobeys and tries to shout down a police officer for doing his job, lies about the situation to the officer (“I’m pregnant!”) and in her subsequent PR and throws her husband under the bus to save her own reputation.
And weeks before she was ripping on people’s photo scandals?!
What an hypocritical, entitled, manipulative, foul POS.
This. ^ I can’t tell how drunk she is, or is not, here but her glaring sense of entitlement is totally obvious. Once the cop stopped her husband from driving this ceased to be a “scary” situation. What’s on film is a lesson in arrogance.
I thought she dissed the cop too cause on one hand she acted like he was doing his job; but in the next breath she justified her behavior partly due to her being fearful for her husband. The cop was pretty mellow overall, and I saw no fear from Reese or hubby, just entitled behavior on her part.
LMAO! Yes I’m laughing because I can, because no one was hurt so what is left is humor. Humor in an economically upper class indignant entitled drunk being arrested and taken down a few pegs. I laugh at the absurdity of everything that came out of her mouth. I laugh at the shame that I hope, I HOPE she truly does feel. I sit opened mouthed at her disregard for the husband she was “protecting” when he himself was trying to calm the situation. I laugh again at him throwing her under the bus!
I applaud the officer for doing his job well.
Grow up, Reese. You’re pregnant and WASTED? Which is it? I have lost so much respect for her because of this. I heard from friends in LA that she is a terror to work with. This is evidence enough to support that.
YES YOU HAVE TO OBEY THE OFFICER/LAW.
YES YOU ARE OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE.
NO IT IS NOT UN-AMERICAN.
GROW. UP.
The most embarrassing thing about this besides her condescending behavior is when her husband says “I’m sorry, I had nothing to do with that!”…which to me implies that he is not going down with the ship and making sure he doesn’t face an obstruction charge. Yes, it’s kind of like throwing her under the bus. Then again who would blame him? I think she is probably a condescending and argumentative bitch on her own time including with him.
i didnt even read the article,nore the comments..
And i didnt even read the article, are did i read the comments..
Who laughed and asked Sparkly.. Oh, on the news.. is that the best female friend who’s ranch you visited.. while we were split.. that gave you and all of us such good advice? Remember, she told all the young women that the way to the top was not by way of taking off your top. At the time she was talking about Kim and her being a bad role model?
Reece Witherspoon- the American Drunk.
Best line in this WHOLE MESS: After Reese’s tirade, Jim actually told the cop, “I’m sorry, I had nothing to do with that!”..AHAHAHAHHAHHA
Kudos to the Cop! The accent, the calm, and the ” I don’t know who you are ma’am” love it. Classic good guy cop.
I agree it’s pretty crappy that circumstances would be different if Reese were a black man but that’s a problem with law enforcement, not Reese Witherspoon.
The video paints a different picture for me than reading about it did. I imagined a screaming banshee when I read it but it was a touch more muted than that.
And yes, it goes without saying that driving intoxicated or getting into a car with an intoxicated driver is a terrible decision and they are beyond lucky no one was hurt. Having said that, I found this hysterical.
I really appreciate you mentioning the display of white privilege here. Seriously, very appreciative. It means a lot more than this comment could express.
I truly hope that some of the commenters denying this phenomenon will be encouraged by this discussion to do even minimal research on the topic. Even just google white privilege. One of the top hits:
http://ted.coe.wayne.edu/ele3600/mcintosh.html
This is an eye-opening piece. It can be quite uncomfortable for white people to confront this type of realization, but it is so necessary.
So when Naomi Campbell flies into one of her rages and assaults people, is that black privilege?
Although I don’t mean to compare Reese with Lindsey Lohan, the latter has never been known to mouth off to a COP. So Reese is dumber than Lindsey in this particular instance.
She ought to be ashamed of herself. So many commenters have already said it, but “entitled” is a good word.
LOVE that officer, though. Reese: “Something something don’t you need to know my name?!” “Not quite yet.”
I love how her husband threw under the bus at the end. That is classic!!!!!
He’s lucky he didn’t hurt or kill anyone, but he did throw her under the bus. As for her, “I’m sorry for being an a**.” Yay for you.
The latest vid of her and her husband arguing with each other is even more amazing.
This was far more entertaining than her last five films put together.
She doesn’t sound that drunk to me. Just an entitled snot. Love how hubby threw her out under the bus. He looked like he has seen this many times before. Hopefully we will hear more stories of her obnoxious self soon LOL.
I liked her in “man on the moon” a long time ago…
She acts entitled, for sure.
She is just an actress. I think she overestimates her value in American society. Its not like these celebrities are looking for a cure for cancer, or anything like that.
What’s with all the “white privledge” comments anyway? Who said anything about white? This here is a celebrity, used to getting her own way, used to her money getting her out of “uncomfotable situations”, used to getting something for nothing. It has nothing to do with race.
Her stupid “I’m an American” comments was her asserting her “rights”. It’s typical behavior for a certain type of personality. Where I work I hear “I know my rights!” all the time. And it’s not all from white people. Stop making race a god damn issue in cases where it isn’t.
I would advise you to look up how many people of color have been shot or tazed for doing the EXACT thing she was doing.Cops will say they felt “threatned” to justify doing it and will get away with it. It’s wee bit naive to think otherwise.
I feel sorry for people who live in a victim mentality and go around with a chip on their shoulder about “white privelege”. Grow up and get over yourself.
white privilege has nothing to do with a “victim” mentality. Like I said, look up how many times minorities have been shot or tazed for doing the EXACT same thing Reese did then get back to me…You can start with rapper R prophet who was all over TMZ last week for getting out the car when the cop was talking to his drunk driving friend.
Some people are stuck on blaming whites for everything. Its racist.
No, it’s a fallacy to accuse someone of ‘reverse racism’ when they accurately identify the influence of white privilege in a scenario where a white, straight, married couple are contacted by a white male police officer. Many of the signature elements of the U.S. police state are clearly identifiable: white privilege, patriarchy, misogyny, class hierarchy. The fact that all the people in this situation are white leads an uninformed, white observer to assume that race is not a factor, but any person of color observing this scenario would be astonished because the tone and the process is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than a situation where a PoC is being arrested.
Enlisting people of color and women as police officers does not erase racism or misogyny in the government. Police are a government apparatus in the service of a state based firmly on white privilege and patriarchal values. If they can sign up women and people of color to police their own, so much the better for the state.
Nobody here is “blaming whites for everything”, they are simply aware of societal inequality because they have not had the benefit of white privilege. And for people of color to critique an oppressor is not called “racism”. It’s called communication.
@ Nutter…if I could high five you I would. Thank you! The simple FACT that I pointed out that maybe one should RESEARCH the disparity of minorities who were shot or tazed for doing the EXACT thing Reese did and the follow up response was that somehow white people as a whole are being blamed for everything and it’s “racist” is ludicrous. And just an FYI @ KayKay people of color can not be racist as is there is no HISTORICAL social, political, institutionalized power as a WHOLE, to back up hatred….they CAN be prejudiced and act on those prejudices. I would advise you open a book or use google if you truly want to learn something instead of dismissing valid observations. Start off with Tim Wise, he’s white and he educates the ignorant masses of every group on white privilege.
Thank you @Nutter!!!!
Please, please, please, @DeltaJuliet, @KayKay, click the link.
http://ted.coe.wayne.edu/ele3600/mcintosh.html
No boo. It really isn’t.
OMG The ending
“I tried.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I absolutely, honestly tried”
“I had nothing to do with that.”
“I know.”
Her husband kind of throws her under the bus to the cop when he says I had nothing to do with that.
THIS
She will never forget how he immediately started sucking up to the man.
For years gossip sites have hinted that Reese’s “sweetheart” image is only that – an image – and that in reality she is rude, mean and obnoxious – especially to people she considers to be her inferiors.
From what her husband said here, I get the distinct impression he’s this behaviour from her many, many times before.
What i want to know is what is she wearing in the 1st picture…someone please tell me that’s from a movie!
Thanks to law enforcement for protecting our citizens; it’s not an easy job. I am ashamed to say I got a DUI years ago…so, so, so, ashamed…Reese doesn’t seem ashamed – she seems belligerent.
This explains the tv interview she did yesterday she and her PR team knew this was about to be released. She comes across as an obnoxious entitled bitch, no wonder her husband drinks.
She is so fake. I saw her interview. What a put-on of faux niceness for a person who – in reality- comes across as an arrogant B!tch.
Her ‘don’t you know who I am act’ is just ridiculous and so self centred when many people die at the hands of drunk drivers.
There is no excuse for what they did. She practically abetted drunk driving in the police video.
If Laura jeanne’s husband had that much of alcohol and was able to ask her to be quiet (I was also trying to read his lips because he kept saying something to her)… Can you imagine what was her blood alcohol concentration?
i’m so late to the discussion that I don’t think anyone will even see this, but who was she saying someone said it was ok to ask questions? Did I hear that right? Someone would be there in a minute? Was that her lawyer or what?
She was talking about Molly Smith, a producer on the film she’s shooting in Atlanta.
People on this thread who keep saying “race card” and asserting that white privilege wasn’t a factor understand nothing about the society in which they are living.
You’re watching the police-state government curb one of its own, nothing more. This scenario is exactly what white privilege looks like. It’s not just race, gender, or class, it’s all of these things bound together. If they were fifteen years older and driving a jalopy, they’d both be cuffed on the pavement with the cops insisting they are both on meth or heroin.
Anyone reading this who is a person of color or working class knows what I’m talking about. The rest of you will never understand because you’re too privileged and ignorant to give a damn. That’s ok, it’s not easy to see through the veil. To do so requires the ability to feel compassion and the willingness to practice it.
@Nutter, it is not all of us. I have actually been really upset by many of the comments on this thread. I generally consider commenters here to be thoughtful, intelligent and progressive and it has been depressing, to say the least, to see how pervasive this obliviousness truly is. American culture at work ensuring that we don’t acknowledge our various forms of privilege and how damaging it is to ALL of us, not just the oppressed.
I love your posts. Thank you.
I’m not approving her behavior in any way but I honestly didn’t see it as entitlement. As in, I’m Reese Witherspoon and you can’t do this to important ole me. I saw it as, “I’m Reese Witherspoon and because you are doing this to me, we are now going to be on TV as a national joke. Sounded to me like she was just warning him of what was coming and has in fact come. Everything a celebrity does has to be publicized to the max. I hope the cop enjoys his 15 minutes of fame.
As for her apology, I thought she was sincerely embarrassed and regretful. She’s human and she blew it big time. At least most of us don’t have to have our mistakes broadcasted to the world while we get buried in shame and hate from said world. I sure don’t envy her living this down and still wish her the best and will continue to be one of her fans. I’ll be seeing her new movie too. She apologized and has my forgiveness. I truly doubt she’ll do it again.
Oh, and she must not have been drunk because the cop told her she could have driven the car home if she had behaved herself. Instead, it got towed.
Neither one of them seemed real drunk but seriously, I do not understand why people are getting so upset over this. It was bad judgement on her part and she sounds real dumb but get over it, she has never said she was perfect. I still like her. I think what her husband did was stupid and a big deal but we really have other things to be concerned about than this.
Well the point of drunk driving is that the people that do it feel that they are not really drunk and sad to say the lose of life has proven they were wrong. But look at the cost of that mistake. Like being a little pregnant.
I think for me at least it is upsetting if you have had experience with the lose of someone to a drunk driver. YOU see things differently.
Regarding Reese; it is all about the image that she has put out there. Looking at that video you see it. And when you see the truth of a person well believe. it. She is a liar. She lied to an officer about being pregnant for what reason. so she could be treated differently. If you listen to the conversation with her husband anyone with some common sense could see that this is not a new situation. It seems to me that Reese is like this a lot. Her husband says..”Reese not to night”. I take that to mean she goes off a lot. She painted herself as the southern belle. She is condescending to the officer. Just because she didn’t scream or whatever she was wrong and should have been arrested. That whole detailed lie about being pregnant was her way of protecting herself not being concerned about her husband. She was not scared. she was acting The Star. and I think she Acts The Star a lot.
And Kelly as everyone here is forever commenting that this is a “gossip site” so there you go.
DUI is no laughing matter, they both made a bad decision to drive when they were clearly wasted. Her husband was more polite and contrite than she was. She acted entitled and foolish. This is a perfect example of White Privilege. Nobody of color or even a working class white person would even dare to act that way; the outcome would have been much different. Sad but true. Yes, Reese, you can say whatever you want to say to the Police — so long as you say it from the passenger seat of the car where you’re supposed to be. Where you went wrong was walking up between the police officer while your husband was in the process of being arrested; you interfered with a lawful arrest.
This was not an example of “white privelege”. This was an example of a drunk person. As far as making a bad decision to drive drunk – again, they were drunk. There was no decision-making process involved. As to no person of color or white working class person daring to act that way – no offense, but you need to get out more. Being drunk makes ALL people do and say things they’d never do or say if they were sober. And those who say otherwise have either never been drunk or had the luxury of seeing themselves drunk on YouTube.
He got out of the car when his friend was pulled over for DUI…interestingly enough the dash cam hasn’t been made public yet.
http://www.tmz.com/2013/04/25/r-prophet-taser-injuries-arrest-photos-slave/
Was it wrong for Jim to get drunk and drive? Was it wrong for a drunk Reese to get into a car with drunk Jim? Yes, but it’s likely she unaware of her drunkedness as well as Jim’s. That’s what being drunk does: it clouds your perception. Was mouthing off to a cop wrong? Yeah, but clearly the cop is used to that, especially from drunk people,and as far as mouthing off goes, Reese was pretty tame. I can well imagine that Reese is mortified by this.
Incredibly irresponsible for her husband to get behind the wheel drunk with a new baby. And she shouldn’t have let him drive! Your rich, get a freaking driver or limo or cab! Good grief how embarrassing for them both!
B I T C H
In this video she says she didn’t have anything to drink: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2319497/Reese-Witherspoons-husband-Jim-Toth-struggles-balance-failing-sobriety-test-MORE-video-footage-emerges-arrest.html
Watch the latest dash-cam video! She says she didn’t have anything to drink!
I knew she wasn’t drunk
Not being an American citizen, I wonder why is her husband in handcuffs. My ex boyfriend was stopped while drunk driving, he was told to leave his car where it was pulled off, he was checked if he could get home on his own, he was sent home by public transportation and his licence taken away for six months. No physical contact whatsoever. In Reese’s case, I don’t see Toth resisting the officer in any way. And I really don’t see Reese pulling anything but words to ‘defend’ her husband. I don’t understand the paranoia of the police officer who’s being verbally (!) attacked by a loud and annoying woman, drunk or sober. Period.
If an officer tells you to stay in your car here, you better do it. They take getting out the car and confronting them as obstruction (he was interviewing her husband) plus they don’t know if the person is capable of attacking them
White privilege is a politically correct ideology. Not everyone buys into it, not everyone has to. I can pull up just as many studies online that show white privilege is pretty much a myth.
She sounded very immature through the entire thing. I’m kind of surprised she would go to extremes by actually lying to the cop, saying she was pregnant or had to pee. If she just allowed her husband to be questioned and pass a DUI test, they might have been cleared, but he was obviously drunk. If you listen to the conversation she had with husband afterward, he sounds like the more sensible one, and she sounds very irrational. If she acts out like this after drinking, maybe she just shouldn’t.
Hmm. She said she’s pregnant when she isn’t? Has she ever publicly claimed to have graduated from Stanford University when she dropped out her sophomore year?
Bad publicity is good publicity!
She’s not drunk? Why isn’t she driving then??? Clearly her husband was.
is that first picture of Reese from a movie or is she just dressing like a country girl for damange control