Reese Witherspoon is on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar’s Daring issue, where she discusses her upcoming drama The Morning Show and working with Jennifer Aniston.
Witherspoon, 43, spoke to her friend Natalie Portman for the interview. The Draper James creator previously worked with Aniston on Friends, where she appeared as her sister.
“I was 23 years old and had just had a baby. I was nursing Ava on set, and Jen just kept going, ‘You have a baby?’ I was like, ‘I know, it’s weird.’ And I remember her being like, ‘Where are you going?’ And I was like, ‘I’m pumping!’” she told Portman.
“I marveled at her ability to perform in front of a live audience like that with no nerves. They would change all the lines and she was just so effortlessly affable, bubbly, and sunny. We’ve been friends ever since,” the Witherspoon said about the experience. The pair is now set to reunite for Aniston's very first TV show since Friends - The Morning Show.
Witherspoon also discussed how The Morning Show evolved after the #MeToo movement.
“When we started, the show was just a book, and nothing had happened with Harvey Weinstein or Les Moonves yet. The Roger Ailes scandal had happened the year before. Then, in October 2017, all those stories started to break about the way women in media were treated. We decided we needed to start from square one and redevelop everything with more of a slant about the truth coming out in media and people being held accountable for their behavior,” she said.
The actress went on to discuss how they portray the movement in the show.
“As artists, we try to find the shreds of humanity in any crisis and open people’s minds to see all sides of things. What does it mean to be a person who loses their entire life? Their family. Their career. The #MeToo movement has been so emotional on all sides. I remember talking to women and holding them while they cried. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to be the spouse or the child of one of these people who was exposed. With the men, we ask, Where is the contrition? How are they supposed to behave? We deal with all of these questions as the season goes on."
She also discussed balancing her projects, including running her preppy clothing line Draper James as well as acting and producing.
“Let’s be real. Every working mother is still figuring these things out. But, honestly, I think women who are incredibly busy are the most productive people in the world. If I ever needed something done, I would ask the busiest woman I know,” she said.
