
Reese Witherspoon was photographed yesterday. We don’t have the photos – you can see them here. I guess she knew there were cameras and she made sure to smile her big Southern-girl smile. “Who me? I would never play the ‘do you know who I am?’ card!” What I find interesting isn’t that Reese and Jim have returned to LA after a liquor-soaked trip to Georgia that ended in dual arrests. No, what I find interesting is that Reese is only now “reuniting” with her kids…? So, were Ava and Deacon with their dad this whole time? And where was baby Tennessee James? Luckily, People Magazine has a rosy, sympathetic story to go along with Reese’s return:
Reese Witherspoon is getting back to life as usual.
“She is happy to be home with her kids again,” a source says of the actress, 37, who returned to L.A. on Monday after her April 19 arrest in Atlanta for disorderly conduct and her husband Jim Toth’s DUI arrest the same night.
Her older children, 13-year-old Ava and 9-year-old Deacon, had been staying with their father, actor Ryan Phillippe, while Witherspoon was on location in Atlanta shooting the drama The Good Lie.
“She didn’t feel good about being away from them after the news of her arrest broke,” says the source. “Her kids are everything to her.” As PEOPLE reports in this week’s issue, a worried Witherspoon called her kids to tell them what had happened after the arrests. Another source close to Witherspoon says she remains “mortified” by the incident, and several who know her well say they are surprised she let the situation get so out of hand.
“She’s a fun girl who likes to have a good time and let loose every now and then,” says another source. “What’s shocking is she didn’t rein it in enough to keep herself out of trouble. It was a really bad decision on both their parts and trust me, they’re evaluating that and they will make damn sure it doesn’t happen again.”
As for Toth, 42, the high-powered CAA talent agent is widely known as “a big social drinker,” as an insider tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.
But the couple, who are parents to 7-month-old son Tennessee, “are seen as very solid,” says an industry insider. “They’re very well-liked.”
On Wednesday, Witherspoon sipped water with her salad at a business lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel, while Toth returned to work at CAA. The pair are due to appear in court on May 22 in Atlanta, where a typical plea deal in a DUI case such as Toth’s would involve fines, 40 hours of community service and 12 months of probation, says Ben Alper, an Atlanta criminal defense attorney who is not affiliated with the case.
Witherspoon, who has wrapped the Atlanta portion of The Good Lie, would most likely face community service and a small fine, says Alper. She has already issued an apology, admitting, “I clearly had one drink too many and I am deeply embarrassed about the things I said” to officers.
[From People]
I didn’t even think of what kind of punishment would be handed down in Georgia. I’m so used to California Justice, also known as “Fun Times Party #YOLO” where you can drive drunk and smash into babies and the judge will give you a friendly pat on the firecrotch for your trouble. Georgia is a lot different. There will be some consequences. Admittedly, they won’t involve jail, but it will be interesting to see what happens there.
I like how the “sources” are framing and re-framing the issue. Reese is just a good girl! She just got a little bit drunk! She’s so embarrassed! She won’t ever mess up again! She’s such a good mom! You know what I wonder? I wonder what Ryan Phillippe told Deacon and Ava about their mom’s arrest. And what I’m getting from the People Mag article is that Tennessee James was in Georgia with his parents and they still went out drinkin’ and drivin’ and hollerin’ at cops. Interesting.
As for the tabloids… let’s see. Star Magazine’s sources say Ryan was the one to explain everything to Ava and that he assured her that “mommy will be fine.” Their sources also say that Reese initially thought Jim’s drinking was cute, but she’s grown irritated by his three-martini lunches. And when Reese drinks, “she’s an angry drunk… she’s very nasty and uptight – not very sweet at all.” The Enquirer has a story about Reese boozin’ it up because her parents’ divorce situation is full of drama, but that story bored me.
Here are some photos of Jim Toth on Wednesday in LA:


Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.