Reese Witherspoon, usually the very picture of poise and good taste, was arrested on Friday after hurling insults at the cop who pulled her husband over on suspicion of DUI.
The actress and her husband, Jim Toth, had been out in Atlanta, apparently having a very good time; when an officer noticed that Toth was driving in the wrong lane, he promptly pulled him over. Witherspoon then began to pull the old, “Don’t you know who I am” routine on the cop, who was having none of it.
“Mrs. Witherspoon began to hang out the window and say that she did not believe I was a real police officer,” the officer wrote in a police report. “I told Mrs. Witherspoon to sit on her butt and be quiet. Mrs. Witherspoon asked, ‘Do you know my name?’ I answered, ‘No, I don’t need to know your name.’ I then added, ‘Right now.’ Mrs. Witherspoon stated, ‘You’re about to find out who I am.’… Mrs. Witherspoon also stated, ‘You’re going to be on national news.’ I advised Mrs. Witherspoon that was fine.”
Witherspoon was then handcuffed and arrested for disobeying repeated orders from the officer and she and Toth, who now faces a DUI charge, were taken into custody. The actress is charged with disorderly conduct.
News of the arrest comes as a shock to fans, as the mom of three cemented her status as America’s Sweetheart with films such as “Man In The Moon”, “Sweet Home Alabama”, and “Legally Blonde”. She was in Atlanta to film “The Good Lie”. She recently released a statement regarding the arrest and her behavior:
”I clearly had one drink too many and I am deeply embarrassed about the things I said. It was definitely a scary situation and I was frightened for my husband, but that is no excuse. I was disrespectful to the officer who was just doing his job. I have nothing but respect for the police and I’m very sorry for my behavior.”