Reese Witherspoon Shares How She Was Made Foreman on Jury After Starring inLegally Blonde: ‘I Didn’t Finish College’

Mar. 15, 2025

Reese Witherspoon, pictured.Photo:Emma McIntyre/Getty

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On Friday’s episode ofThe Graham Norton Show, the actress, 48, recalled how starring in the 2001 movieLegally Blondeaffected her experience serving on a jury.

“Well listen, I did not want to do jury duty,” Witherspoon told host Graham Norton, 61. “But I remember it was afterLegally Blonde. It was probably like seven years afterLegally Blonde, I got called for jury duty and it was in Beverly Hills.”

She continued, “I thought, ‘Surely they’re not gonna pick me.’ They picked me for a long trial, y’all. It was probably two weeks. I was on the jury."

“That’s not that long,” fellow guest andYou’re Cordially InvitedcostarWill Ferrellchimed in, to which Witherspoon replied, “Okay, Ferrell.”

Reese Witherspoon, pictured, as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde.Tracy Bennett/MGM Pictures/Getty

Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde

Tracy Bennett/MGM Pictures/Getty

Ferrell, 57, continued, “I thought you were going to say a month.”

“No listen, it was two solid weeks every day going in,” Witherspoon said. “And I was watching it and it was a dog bite case but it was very clear, I was very invested in this case.”

She continued, “We went every day and then we went to deliberation and so at the very end they say, ‘Okay, well somebody in this group has to be the foreman’ and they all unanimously are like, ‘Her.’ ”

“Me, me?,” theCruel Intentionsstar shrieked as she pointed to herself.

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Witherspoon then recalled how the group explained they picked her because “you went to law school.”

“I was like, ‘Y’all this is really upsetting. I definitely did not go to law school, I didn’t finish college,’ ” she said. “I played a lawyer in a movie once but they fully made me the foreman and I started realizing people don’t know much about the law.”

Witherspoon continued, “If you get picked for jury duty, please do it,” adding that “some bad stuff goes down there.”

Reese Witherspoon, pictured.Gareth Cattermole/Getty

Reese Witherspoon attends the “You’re Cordially Invited” special screening at the London Palladium

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She went on to recall how some of the jury believed a defendant was guilty because they didn’t like “the way she looked.”

The Morning Showactress explained that the case involved a neighbor who sued a dog owner after the dog bit her hand.

However, “this other lady put her hand in a dog fight.”

“What did your mother always tell you, don’t put your hand in a dog fight,” Witherspoon said.

source: people.com