REESE CAUGHT UP IN ABUSE NIGHTMARE
The woman claiming Ryan Phillippe abused her drags his ex-wife, Reese with her spoon, into their legal drama
For months, Ryan Phillippe has maintained his innocence. Last September, Playboy’s Miss June 2017, Elsie Hewitt, filed a $1 million lawsuit against the Shooter star for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, alleging that her former boyfriend violently grabbed and kicked her and threw her down the stairs during a July 4, 2017, argument at his LA home, sending her to the hospital. Though the LA City Attorney declined to press charges and Ryan countersued in November — he claims Elsie fabricated her story in an attempt to extort him — she’s continued to aggressively pursue her case.
In a surprising twist, the 22-year-old model also involved another woman in Ryan’s life: his ex-wife, Reese Witherspoon. In court papers filed June 20, Elsie complains that Ryan, 43, has not handed over documents that her lawyers have requested, including all communications between himself and the mother of two of his children — texts, emails, private social media exchanges and more — in which they discussed the incident. In legal papers, Ryan’s lawyer has described Elsie’s request as “overbroad.” “These attempts to delve into Mr. Phillippe’s private life are nothing more than harassment,” Ryan’s legal team tells In Touch. It’s been 11 years since Reese, 42, filed for divorce, and she is now wed to talent agent Jim Toth. “The last thing Ryan wants is for her to be involved,” an insider tells In Touch. “Reese hates that she’s being dragged into the lawsuit as well.”
The details of the case are shocking. Elsie claims Ryan was “infatuated” with her and used an app to monitor her whereabouts when they briefly dated. She also accuses him of abusing alcohol, cocaine, ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and steroids. Ryan has denied the allegations in court papers and countered that Elsie — who’s said she went to his house on July 4 to collect her things after they parted ways — actually broke into his home “in the middle of the night” when she was “extremely intoxicated.”
CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE The entire situation puts Reese, who has embraced her role as a leader in the Time’s Up movement, in an awkward position. Earlier this year, she even opened up about her own experiences with “verbal” and “psychological” abuse in a relationship when she was “really young.” She said: “A line got drawn in the sand, and it got crossed, and my brain just switched, and I knew it was going to be very difficult, but I just couldn’t go any further…. It changed who I was on a cellular level, the fact that I stood up for myself.”
Reese, who wed Ryan when she was 23, didn’t name her abuser, and has also said she “would never change anything” about their marriage. “He’s really good with their kids [Ava, 18, and Deacon, 14] and will always be a part of her life,” the insider says of the exes, who have maintained an outwardly cordial relationship. “But she’d never want their personal texts to be made public.” ◼