Reese Witherspoon has criticised a journalist who tried to “shame” her for not speaking out about her experience of sexual assault sooner.
The actor revealed last year that she was assaulted by a director when she was 16 and was instructed by agents and producers to stay quiet.
She said at the time: “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.”
Witherspoon added that “silence was a condition of my employment” and so she did not speak out.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Witherspoon said: “I recently had a journalist ask me about it. She said, ‘Well, why didn’t you speak up sooner?’ And I thought, that’s so interesting to talk to someone who experienced those things and then judge them for the way they decide to speak about them.
“You tell your story in your own time when you’re ready. But the shame that she tried to put on me was unreal, and then she wrote about how selfish I was for not bringing it up sooner.
“There wasn’t a public reckoning 25 years ago when this stuff happened to me. There wasn’t a forum to speak about it either.”
Witherspoon pointed out how for survivors of sexual assault today, “social media has created a new way for people to express themselves that I didn’t have”.
The actor can currently be seen in Little Fires Everywhere alongside Kerry Washington and Joshua Jackson.
