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.’”
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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”
it is a privilege to be able to set aside the real life harm and oppression bc it does not affect you and befriend someone like that
— jhaunay-amanie (@wrightmywayout) October 8, 2019
The privilege reaks. There are thousands of people in the middle east who don’t get to be friends with people with “different views” because they’re dead thanks to him.
— Sara I I I 🇵🇸 (@sarac93) October 9, 2019
And he spent his presidency trying to strip away LGBT rights, so nah. This monologue is pure class privilege.
“Why are y’all co-signing this”
Noooooooooo. Why are y’all out here co-signing this mess. Ugh!!!! pic.twitter.com/AWBMJPFzKW
— Keith D. Garcia (@kgarcia_sa) October 9, 2019
“Be kind to rich people”
Be kind to rich people…
— Megan Bre 👩🏼⚖️ (@hasnothing2say) October 9, 2019
“Dead kids don’t matter”
❤️❤️❤️ dead kids don’t matter if they’re from Iraq
— bibi (@sappthick) October 8, 2019
KILLING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CIVILIANS IN IRAQ IS NOT A DIFFERENCE OF POLITICAL OPINION. A difference of political opinion is whether we should put tax $$$ towards roads, schools or police. The man is a war criminal. If this “blows your mind” I’ve got news about your mind.
— Whatever 🍁🍂🎃↙️↙️↙️ (@ScrambledMeggs) October 9, 2019
“I’m friends with people who wear fur”
But Reese honey, wearing fur and starting an illegal war that literally killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people aren’t exactly the same thing.
— CAZWELL (@CAZWELLnyc) October 9, 2019
Imagine being so god damn out of touch that you’re actually praising Ellen for claiming George W. Bush’s atrocities are no different than a fur-wearing friend. Grotesque and shameful dismissal of the victims of the War on Terror @ReeseW @KristenBell, you just lost a longtime fan. https://t.co/KOlMVHs6TS
— Abby Martin (@AbbyMartin) October 10, 2019
Anti-LGBT+ Policies
Tell that to the LGBT kids will be losing their protections as GOP lawmakers chip them away. Are we just supposed to sit around the dinner table with them make cute videos on our iPhone and be “friends “
— Laura Hosto (@LHosto) October 9, 2019
There is being kind, and there is freely associating with someone who called for a Constitutional Amendment banning LGBT+ citizens from equal protection under the law.
— Brendan O’Donnell (@NightPanther203) October 9, 2019
He has never apologized for his bigoted policy positions, so yeah, it’s a bad look to cuddle with him.
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.”
