Reese Witherspoon admitted she was taken by surprise when her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe made a joke about her making more money than he did during the 2002 Oscars.
The couple – who split in 2006 – were presenting the Oscar for Best Makeup when Witherspoon, 44, asked if she could read the winner, to which Phillippe, 46, replied: “You earn more than me. Continues.”
She laughed and looked shocked by the comment before reading “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” as the winner.
“I forgot that this already happened,” said Witherspoon on the podcast “HFPA in Conversation” on Friday. “He said that, and no, it was not written. He didn’t tell me he was going to say that before it happened on the air. So, I was a little confused at the moment. ”
Witherspoon, who shares two children, Ava, 21, and Deacon, 17, with the “Big Sky” actor, added: “There are so few women who make a lot of money that they are sometimes embarrassed about it and sometimes expect- if they give more and do more and be more to others in the same position that a male movie star would not be expected and this is just the double standard that exists in our society. ”
However, she said that gender norms have changed a lot in the past 20 years since he made the comment and that more women are making money and talking about money.
“Women need to talk about money and how they made money and not be ashamed of it,” she continued.
Witherspoon also said that when Ava was in second grade, she came home embarrassed because someone at school mentioned that her mother was one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.
“I said, ‘Never be ashamed of a woman making money.’ There are women all over the world who have no opportunity, neither education, nor the ability to earn money, ”recalled Witherspoon. “Never feel bad that your mom makes money, and never feel bad if you make money, and don’t feel embarrassed or embarrassed if you are more than your partner.”
Witherspoon and Phillippe met at the actress’ 21st birthday party in 1997. They married in 1999 and separated in 2006. Witherspoon married talent agent Jim Toth in 2011 and welcomed them to his son Tennessee in 2012. Phillippe has a 9-year-old daughter with ex Alexis Knapp.