In April 2013, TMZ reported that Reese Witherspoon and her husband James Toth were arrested after a night of drinking. In the early hours of the morning, the former talent agent was allegedly spotted driving erratically by police, and the two were pulled over. During Toth’s sobriety test, Witherspoon allegedly started getting rowdy, leaving the car.
The star was then alleged to have flexed her Hollywood kudos by asking, “Do you know my name?” The officer answered that he did not, to which Witherspoon replied, “You’re about to find out who I am … You are going to be on national news.” The couple was arrested and booked shortly after the incident with Toth facing charges of driving under the influence while Witherspoon was accused of disorderly conduct. Despite the mess, the couple never appeared in court. Instead, Witherspoon was ordered to pay $100 while her husband was issued a $600 fine and 40 hours of community service, per ITV News.
Days after the arrest, Witherspoon made a public apology for her behavior. In a statement published by Entertainment Weekly, she copped to having drunk too much alcohol and suggested she was acting out of fear. “I was disrespectful to the officer who was just doing his job,” she wrote. ” The words I used that night definitely do not reflect who I am.” A year later, she told reporters at the BFI London Film Festival (via The Hollywood Reporter) that the incident had altered her public image.
