She was sexually assaulted when she was 16

Reese Witherspoon Reveals She Feels Guilt For Not Coming Forward About Her Sexual Assault Sooner

Reese Witherspoon spoke to The Guardian recently and revealed that she still feels guilt about not coming forward sooner to talk about her sexual assault when she was 16 years old.

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Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston star in the new Apple TV+ show The Morning Show which was released for streaming last weekend. They have been doing many interviews in light of their return to television together and in a recent interview with The Guardian, they discuss the importance of changing power structures within a workplace as well as the #MeToo movement.

Reese Witherspoon: "I’ve had multiple experiences of harassment and sexual assault"

Two years ago, Reese Witherspoon revealed at an Elle Women in Hollywood event, that she was sexually assaulted by a director when she was just 16 years old. Now, she admits that she feels guilty about not coming forward sooner to talk about her experience. "I wish I could tell you that was an isolated incident in my career but, sadly, it wasn’t. I’ve had multiple experiences of harassment and sexual assault," she explained in the interview.

"When stories [about assault and harassment] come out, I sometimes get really upset and it runs the gamut from sad to heartbroken to extreme anger. I think it probably drives me to tell more stories about it because art is the best antidote," Witherspoon tells The Guardian. Her past experience has made it important for her "not to let this happen to other young women."

Other women who spoke out are "the real heroes"

Witherspoon goes on to say that the women who spoke out and spoke out before her are "the real heroes" in her mind, especially risking their jobs, their lives and everything. During the time of Reese's sexual assault, she had agents and producers explaining to her and ultimately instructing her to keep her mouth shut or she would risk losing out on acting roles.