Reese Witherspoon arrested on disorderly conduct charge
BY BILL ZWECKER Columnist/bzwecker@suntimes.com April 21, 2013 6:10PM
Reese Witherspoon and husband Tim Toth at the Academy Awards in February. Jason Merritt~Getty Images
Updated: April 21, 2013 7:30PM
Who would have thunk it? Reese Witherspoon — the Oscar-winning actress known for her squeaky-clean, girl-next-door image — got tossed in the slammer late Thursday night, charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly clashing with a police officer in Atlanta.
It all happened after Witherspoon’s husband, top Hollywood agent James Toth, was pulled over under suspicion of a DUI. Daily Variety obtained a copy of a police report indicating that the actress had to be handcuffed after she refused the officer’s instructions to remain in the car while he dealt with testing her husband with a Breathalyzer.
Once Witherspoon’s husband was placed under arrest for the suspected DUI, the police report states the actress exited the car, defying the cop’s order to get back inside and stating she was “a U.S. citizen” and as such was allowed “to stand on American ground.”
Witherspoon also reportedly asked the officer, “Do you know my name?” When he said he didn’t, she told him, “You’re about to find out who I am. … You are going to be on national news.”
The irony: Now it’s Witherspoon splashed all over the national media, rather than the obscure Georgia cop.
Both Toth and Witherspoon were released around 3:30 a.m. Friday. A court appearance is scheduled for Monday, but it’s expected the couple’s attorney will request a postponement.
The actress has been in the Atlanta area recently filming “The Good Lie,” a film about a young refugee of the Sudanese Civil War who wins a lottery for relocation to the United States with three other lost boys — leading to a relationship with an American woman, played by Witherspoon.
She attended a New York premiere of her new movie “Mud” Sunday night but declined to answer questions.
