Reese Witherspoon's Reaction to Ellen DeGeneres, George W. Bush Controversy Draws Backlash

Reese Witherspoon is facing backlash after she tweeted her support for Ellen DeGeneres after the [...]

By Allison Schonter

Reese Witherspoon is facing backlash after she tweeted her support for Ellen DeGeneres after the talk show host was criticized for her friendship with former President George W. Bush. After a photo showing the talk show host and the former president sitting together at a Cowboys game over the weekend went viral, receiving thousands of negative comments, Witherspoon took to Twitter to side with DeGeneres' call for tolerance.

"Thank you for this important reminder, Ellen!" the Big Little Lies actress wrote in a since-deleted tweet, adding a quote from DeGeneres' address on the matter. "' I have friends who don't think the same things that i do. When I say be kind to one another, I don't mean be kind to the people who think the same way you do. I mean ..Be Kind to Everyone.'"

Witherspoon's vocal support for DeGeneres, however, immediately drew her into the controversy, with social media erupting with their disappointment, eventually leading the Legally Blonde actress to delete her statement.

Keep scrolling to see social media's response to Witherspoon's public support.

"A Privilege"

For many, Witherspoon, as well as other celebrities' willingness to side with DeGeneres' viewpoint was evidence of their "privileged" way of looking at things, with many claiming that if it doesn't affect them, celebrities take no issues with the atrocities affecting others.

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"Why are y'all co-signing this"

In a Vanity Fair op-ed titled ""Ellen DeGeneres, George W. Bush and the Limits of Unconditional Kindness," journalist Laura Bradley argued that DeGeneres was "aid[ing] Bush's post-presidency rebrand," and that she is not the only celebrity to do so.

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"Be kind to rich people"

For some, Witherspoon's support showcased class solidarity, something that Pajiba journalist Petr Knava touched in in a recent op-ed titled "The Rich Will Always Have Class Solidarity, And It's Going To Kill The Rest Of Us."

"The rich inhabit a different world to the rest of us," Knava wrote. "It's a world that plays by an entirely distinct set of rules, and there is an unspoken yet wildly powerful, often purely subconscious allegiance that those who live in it have for each other. They go to the same ball games. They holiday at the same resorts and attend the same parties."

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"Dead kids don't matter"

One of the main issues prompting the backlash is Bush's involvement in in the Iraq War, which has led him to be dubbed a "war criminal" by many. Bush's administration in 2003 started the war, which led to t an estimated 250,000 civilian deaths, based on false claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, Huffington Post reports. More than 4,200 U.S. troops also died in the war.

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"I'm friends with people who wear fur"

In her Tuesday statement, DeGeneres, on a lighter note, had stated that her befriending Bush was no different than befriending someone who wore real fur.

"Here's the thing: I'm friends with George Bush. In fact, I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs that I have. We're all different and I think that we've forgotten that we're all different," she explained. "For instance, I wish people wouldn't wear fur. I don't like it, but I'm friends with people who wear fur and I'm friends with people who are furry, as a matter of fact."

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Anti-LGBT+ Policies

Along with taking issue over Bush's involvement with the Iraq war, many pointed the hypocrisy of DeGenres, a gay woman, befriending a former POTUS who who held anti-LGBT stances throughout his presidency. During his eight years in office, Bush repeatedly campaigned on the promise to enact a constitutional amendment making same-sex marriage illegal.

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Witherspoon's Instagram comment

After DeGeneres shared her response to the backlash on Instagram, Witherspoon generated more backlash when she commented "Exactly" in response.

"Yes exactly spoken like a rich white privileged person," one person wrote in response.

"For those of us within the LGBT community, as well as for people in minority communities, the request to 'be kind' is a demand for silence," wrote another. "It is a demand for tolerance of hate and discrimination. It is a demand for complicity. It is bending oneself into the mold of likability defined by a man-centered, straight-centered culture. 'EXACTLY'."

"Exactly?" a third asked. "I guess you guys can be kind since you're in a tax bracket that allows you to over look that."

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