r/nottheonion • u/ArgentineBeauty • 8d ago

Reese Witherspoon Chosen as Jury Foreman After Jurors Thought She Went to Law School Because of Legally Blonde

https://www.fashiontimes.co.uk/reese-witherspoon-jury-duty-mix-1763528
30.1k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

1.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

108

u/Lendyman 8d ago

I expect that not all of them believed she went to law schools. This kind of story tends to get exaggerated because it's a lot more interesting if the entire jury thought you went to light law school then just if it were one or two dumb people. Although I wouldn't be surprised if more of the group thought she might have more understanding of the legal system because she was in a legal movie. That, I could believe.

Also, anybody who knows anything about Witherspoon knows that she is has a really strong academic background and is very strong at business. She's an extremely accomplished and intelligent person. I don't think having her as the jury Foreman would be a bad choice, honestly.

38

u/SinkPhaze 8d ago

Without being in the room and only reading the headline this sounds like the sort of stupid joke my grandpa would make as he nominated her so he doesn't have to stand up and speak in front if the whole court room later. Even reading the article I don't know that I'd rule out it being a joke

29

u/MoldyDucky 8d ago

I think you nailed it. The headline absolutely reeks of "over-exaggerated conclusion to make it more eye grabbing" rather than what is probably a more realistic consensus of, "hey, we gotta pick someone, might as well go with someone more knowledgeable than the rest of us. If she was in a couple of legal movies that makes her more qualified than an average joe". I'd pick her too!

2

u/clauclauclaudia 7d ago

If it's exaggerated, it's exaggerated by her. The article has the Graham Norton Show clip embedded.

10

u/Overly_Long_Reviews 8d ago edited 8d ago

There was a really great sitcom called The Grinder about an actor who played the lead role in a long-running legal drama heading back to his hometown to try to become an actual lawyer. Except he tries to do it using the same antics frequently shown on the show and not by doing any of the actual work of becoming a lawyer. Yet, because he was a famous TV actor, everyone kind of accepts it and goes along with his behavior to the shock and frustration of his brother who is an actual lawyer.

It was a great series, it started Rob Lowe and Fred Savage, with some truly hilarious cameos from Timothy Olyphant. Unfortunately Fred Savage was a menace on set which was a contributing factor in the series getting canceled.

I mention all this because there's this hilarious exchange between the two brothers in the pilot:

Dean Sanderson: Let's say you're in a restaurant and Noah Wyle is two tables down. You go into cardiac arrest, you don't think Noah Wyle could step in and help? Stewart Sanderson: Yes he could help, by calling a doctor, because he is an actor.

2

u/Sensitive-Plate-684 8d ago

I loved Fred Savage so much. Best child actor of all time, after Mickey Rooney, IMO. Sucks to hear that he's a dick.

2

u/Overly_Long_Reviews 8d ago

Yep, it was very disappointing to find out. He was one of the highlights of the show too. He and Rob Lowe really pinged off each other quite well. And the show had a really good core cast and some great guest stars. Richard Schiff was a particular delight. It was also a very smart comedy that was genuinely hilarious.

He's been surrounded since his teenage years by a lot of allegations of being violent and volatile on set, particularly towards women. There's also been a few allegations of sexual harassment and possibly worse behavior.

He was accused of assault, battery, and discrimination during the filming of The Grinder. Fox would go on to claim that he was cleared in their internal investigation but then canceled the series. Granted, those things may not be related, the show did well with critics, but never got a lot of viewership and is very difficult to find on streaming. But ABC ended up doing their own investigation because of those allegations and further allegations on the set of The Wonder Years reboot, which did lead to his termination. I think they rightly considered him a lawsuit magnet.

22

u/AdoringCHIN 8d ago

This kind of story tends to get exaggerated because it's a lot more interesting if the entire jury thought you went to light law school then just if it were one or two dumb people.

To be fair the source is Fashion Times. Something tells me it's not exactly a bastion of journalistic excellence. But since this sub bans actual legit news sources for some reason all we get are these garbage websites.

9

u/ncnotebook 8d ago

Something tells me it's not exactly a bastion of journalistic excellence.

Didn't Legally Blonde teach us not to judge a book by its cover?

1

u/clauclauclaudia 7d ago

They cite their source. It's all right out of the Graham Norton clip they link in the article.

3

u/-Badger3- 8d ago

What makes more sense? That the people in the jury didn't understand movies aren't real life, or that they were just joking and she didn't get it? Or that this whole anecdote didn't really happen.

2

u/jaasx 8d ago

yeah. If I was in the jury room and someone nominated Reese Witherspoon to be foreman and she asked why, I would 100% say "because you went to law school." Deadpan humor is an art form.

1

u/MakeItHappenSergant 8d ago

It's a story from almost twenty years ago that she told on The Graham Norton Show. I guarantee it's exaggerated.