Actress speaks of gratitude to those who sparked Me Too
ACTRESS REESE Witherspoon has spoken of the gratitude she feels towards women who spoke out about sexual harassment and abuse they received to spark the Me Too movement and the responsibility she felt to do them justice.
The Oscar winner stars opposite Jennifer Aniston in the new Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show, about a breakfast television programme in the throes of a sexual harassment scandal, reminiscent of the public fall from grace of Matt Lauer on NBC’s Today show in the US.
Arriving at a special screening of the new show in London yesterday, Witherspoon said: “I’m enormously grateful to the women who spoke up and exposed the harassment and the hostile work environments that they have experienced.
“It really felt like a responsibility that we had to help tell
Stars with Jennifer Aniston in the new Apple TV+ show.
those stories but also to reveal the human side of it.
“And I’m also very grateful to Steve Carell (who plays the disgraced TV host) for really joining in on this conversation, because men need to be part of it too.”
Witherspoon and Aniston both also serve as executive producers on the show and Witherspoon, who has been active in the Time’s Up movement, said steps are being taken towards equality in Hollywood productions.
She added: “Women are stepping up into leadership positions but it’s definitely a gender balanced production, we had just as many men as women and I think that is great, we are finally getting to parity, which is really nice.”
Discussing the responsibility which she felt to the women who have spoken out about their experiences, former Friends actress Aniston said: “I think we feel responsibility with any drama, any creative material we are in is a responsibility, but especially this.”
The new series finally reunites the two actresses after Witherspoon guest-starred on Friends as Jill, the spoiled sister of Aniston’s character Rachel, 19 years ago.
The Morning Show is available now on Apple TV+.