Why Reese Witherspoon could use a little therapy

Witherspoon admits to being a basket case when it comes to seeing herself onscreen.

Reese Witherspoon is a mass of insecurities, said Josh Rottenberg in Entertainment Weekly. The actress, 34, may come across as a lively Southern belle, but when it comes to seeing herself onscreen, she’s a basket case. “I don’t watch any movie I’m in,’’ she says. “It’s horrifying. I’ll just focus on something stupid like, ‘I hate my laugh. Why did I smile?’ Sometimes I look at myself and think, ‘Dude, I have the biggest, goofiest smile on earth.’”

When she really wants to feel bad, she’ll Google herself. “Only in very dark moments, moments of pure self-loathing, do I type my name into Google. You never read anything positive; you always go straight to where they say something nasty about you. You’re fat, you’re ugly, you’re tired, you’re worthless, you don’t have a career anymore. It’s just an affirmation of every horrible feeling about yourself.’’

Fortunately, it doesn’t stay with her for very long. “My favorite quote is from Martha Stewart: ‘I have a short memory for painful things.’ And I do. I have one of those incredible memories where I just erase painful things. Maybe that’s really unhealthy. I probably need to see a therapist.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.