Reese Witherspoon says she still thinks about a major faux pas she once committed ― even though there were no cruel intentions behind it.
The Oscar winner is promoting her new comedy “You’re Cordially Invited,” and apropos of its title, she recently told her co-star Will Ferrell that a “very serious” actor once invited Witherspoon to present her with an award at an elegant gala — where things took a pretty bad turn.
“It literally haunts me,” Witherspoon told Ferrell in a segment for People magazine, posted Thursday.
“So this friend of mine, who I didn’t really know that well but she was a very serious, proper actress, she asked me to give her an award,” she continued. “But I had never been to this award ceremony, so I thought it was like a roast. So I got up and I roasted her.”
“But that was not the tone?” said Ferrell. “Oh, boy.”
The “Big Little Lies” star painted a rather embarrassing picture, noting that the British ceremony was “elegant” and “classy.” Witherspoon recalled addressing the actor from the stage: “Remember the time we got laser hair removal?”
“I’m still embarrassed about it,” she told Ferrell. “We’re not friends anymore.”
“I’m not even kidding — we’re not friends anymore,” Witherspoon continued with a laugh. “I think she doesn’t like me anymore. I thought it was so funny and it was just ― I had the wrong audience. It was pretty bad. Yeah. Not even kidding, she doesn’t talk to me anymore.”
Witherspoon didn’t name the actor in question, but some news outlets and social media sleuths have suggested it was none other than “Titanic” star Kate Winslet ― based on a Witherspoon fan page that features an alleged transcript of her presenting Winslet with an Artist of the Year award at the 2007 BAFTAs.
The unverified transcript, published on the fan page in 2007, shows Witherspoon joking that her personal stories with Winslet are “too bawdy or tawdry or drunken” to share.
It also claims Witherspoon alluded to “that really funny thing that happened when they were both in their underwear,” and that she briefly touched on “the time they contemplated laser hair removal.”
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HuffPost reached out to representatives for Witherspoon and Winslet for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
In 2021, Witherspoon tweeted a glowing review of “Mare of Easttown” — the HBO series starring Winslet — and said the “excellent” show featured “incredibly complex performances.”
She concluded at the time: “Bravo to everyone involved!”