Reese Witherspoon has her own empire. Between owning the company Hello Sunshine that's behind critically-acclaimed shows Big Little Lies, The Morning Show and Little Fires Everywhere, starting her own book club promoting female authors, and being an outspoken activist, we would not be surprised if the actress ran for office someday. But what does she think?
When Reese Witherspoon joined comedians Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett on their podcast Smartless, the topic came up. The actors told the Legally Blonde actress that they believe she’d “get a lot of the vote” all the way up to the U.S. Senate if she decided to take that leap. What… like it’s hard? Witherspoon said she loves working in Hollywood, but didn’t say no to a possible future in public office. In her words:
I wouldn't say never, because I don't know where I'm going to be when I'm, you know, 65. I think we need better representation and balance. Women are 50 percent of the population, but we're not 50 percent of the representation in government, which is bizarre, particularly when they're adjudicating over our bodies.
It’s true. Ahead of tonight’s election results, about 25% of women hold office between the U.S. Congress, Senate and House of Representatives. And yet, decisions are being made on a consistent basis in ways that affect women just as much as men. The actress spoke on the podcast about the need for “balance” in the U.S. government moving forward, including in terms of people of color.
Reese Witherspoon also spoke about her experiences running her own company with a combination of men and women on her team. She has valuable insight about how to distribute power when helming a company. Here’s what she said:
I think women have a different relationship to power… It’s interesting how no one needs to be the No. 1, we almost pass the baton almost. It’s always deferring power or sharing responsibilities, so it’s this power balance and that there’s not always one person sort of dictating or mandating exactly what’s going to happen. It's collective ideas and it works really well.
The actress, producer and entrepreneur has definitely shown her ability to be a leader and promote change with her unique voice. Reese Witherspoon has been influential in bringing more women strong roles in movies such as Wild, Gone Girl and TV shows like Big Little Lies, and continues to give talented women a platform to close the disparity in the industry.
Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett may very well be onto something here. Reese Witherspoon could be perfect for public office. Other celebrities have turned to politics before. Some examples include Arnold Schwarznegger and Clint Eastwood, and yes, even Ronald Reagan was an actor before becoming the 40th president of the United States.
The 44-year-old actress has a long career ahead of her between raising her three children and being an absolute boss. First, Reese Witherspoon will return to her role as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 3, which is officially coming out in May 2022. So the only way is up for Gemini vegetarians!
