Reese Witherspoon Shares the "S--tty" Reason the Media Treated Her Differently Than Britney Spears

Reese Witherspoon Shares the "S--tty" Reason the Media Treated Her Differently Than Britney Spears

Reese Witherspoon Shares the "S--tty" Reason the Media Treated Her Differently Than Britney Spears

Reese Witherspoon knows firsthand what it's like to live in the public eye.

In a new interview for Time, the 45-year-old actress reflects on the scrutiny she's faced over the years.

It was in November 2006 that Witherspoon filed for divorce from her now ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, with whom she shares daughter Ava Phillippe, 21, and Deacon Phillippe, 17. She also has an 8-year-old son, Tennessee Toth, with her husband Jim Toth.

Looking back at that time, the Legally Blonde alum recalls being hounded by the paparazzi, who she says followed her to church, to her kids' school and to their soccer practice. She tells the magazine about a time when an RV with photographers parked outside her California home and pointed their cameras into her kitchen window to snap pictures every hour of every day. As she remembers, "My children will tell you stories about being in preschool and people climbing on the roofs of our cars."

Witherspoon, who later moved her family to Nashville, compares her experience to Britney Spears' in that the 39-year-old singer also filed for divorce from her now ex-husband Kevin Federline in November 2006 and was constantly chased by the paparazzi with her two kids Sean Preston Federline, 15, and Jayden James Federline, 14.

Still, Witherspoon knows the media treated her differently than Spears. The Oscar winner told Time women like Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan were painted as "bad" while women like herself and Jennifer Garner were labeled as "good," pointing to how her screaming at the cameras never stuck to her reputation like it did with her fellow stars.

"What if the media had decided I was something else?" Witherspoon asked. "I would be in a totally different position. I want to say it's my decisions or the career choices I made, but it felt very arbitrary. And kind of sh-tty."

Spears' treatment by the media—along with her conservatorship battle—was examined in The New York Times documentary "Framing Britney Spears." Hilton reflected on this topic in a February episode of her podcast This Is Paris.

"I've been reading all of these articles coming out where they were just saying, like, Britney, Paris and just, like, a group of us were just were treated so unfairly and just, like, this really misogynistic view and just being very cruel and mean and making fun of us," she said. "It made me think a lot this week, reading all these new things that are coming out after the Britney film."

Tyrese's Fans Were Left Shocked After He Shaved His Girlfriend's Private Area on Instagram
On camera, "Sweet Lady" artist Tyrese Gibson shaved his girlfriend Zelie Timothy in her "VIP section," as Nightly Pop's Nina Parker put it. Here's how fans are reacting to the unexpected video.

Tyrese Gibson is staying true to his lyrics: "Sit back and relax let me do my thing, I'm about to go there." 

The "I Wanna Go There" singer proved he will go to great lengths for his girlfriend—including down there. Over the weekend, Tyrese surprised fans (to say the least) when he was seen shaving Zelie Timothy's pubic hair on social media.

As an influencer, Zelie documented the intimate experience on her Instagram Story with a video from her perspective, showing her feet in the air while Tyrese went in with a razor. 

She captioned one video, "I will never let go of my King. But does your man shave you though?"

In the background, Tyrese, 42, could be heard explaining his method of putting creamer on first and then mixing it with some oil.

The Fate of the Furious star called his 25-year-old girlfriend "beautiful." She responded, "No, what's beautiful is your man hands. I know he's supposed to be shaving, but I'm thinking about something else." Zelie laughed and asked, "Why are you sticking your tongue out?"

However, not everyone was feeling the private-turned-public moment.

As Nightly Pop's Nina Parker put it, "Tyrese and his girlfriend are really testing the limits of Instagram and their relationship. She posted a video him shaving her, um, VIP section, if you get what I'm saying."

Nina went on, "I'm uncomfortable," adding, "It's just a tricky area to trust somebody with." 

On a more practical note, she asked her co-hosts, "I don't understand why she's shaving. Why is she not getting waxed or lasered at this point? Like, shaving is a little old school to me… You think this is, like, foreplay for them?"

It seems Zelie has an answer. On her Instagram Story, she explained the ritual, saying, "I get sugar waxed guys LOL I love waxing… But I also have a man that loves to shave me [smiley face] I don't get any razor bumps. My coochie is okay LOL. Thanks for wondering if it's ok." 

One fan went viral after tweeting, "Nah Tyrese really shaved his girls coochie on IG and hosted an Oscar viewing party in the same night and didn't even have the decency to change his shirt. Nasty with that one. A menace to society."

Another said, "So, we've reached the 'Tyrese shaving his girlfriend's coochie on Instagram live' part of quarantine. Nice and normal."

Tyrese and Zelie reportedly started dating about two months ago.

He and his ex-wife, Samantha Lee Gibson, broke up in December 2020. At the time, they issued a joint statement that read, "We have decided to make a statement of a painful and significant development in our lives. After much thought, consideration, and prayer, We unfortunately have made the difficult decision to officially separate & divorce." They added, "Our intention is to remain the best of friends & strong coparents."

They share 2-year-old daughter Soraya. He's also dad to 13-year-old daughter Shayla Somer Gibson with his first wife, Norma Gibson.

Tune in to Nightly Pop on E! at 11:30 p.m. for the full scoop.