Reese Witherspoon Offends Mom Bloggers Over Statement on Quality Content
Reese Witherspoon offended mom bloggers following her speech on quality content at the 2007 Innovator Awards from Wall Street Journal. The "Big Little Lies" star implied moms who blog don't provide substantial contributions online to highlight women's stories.
The Oscar-winning actress gave a speech to accept her award as an Entertainment Innovator. Mom bloggers had a lot to say in response to Witherspoon's speech.
"I don't really believe that we've been seeing the full spectrum of the female experience, and that is simply because women's stories are not prioritized," Witherspoon said in her speech. "I'm not talking about mommy blogs and 14 ways to cook a turkey," the actress said, emphasizing that quality content from women is vital in the online platform.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Meredith Gordon of the blog Bad Sandy wrote a post to address Witherspoon's comment. She pointed out how the actress marginalized mom bloggers when most of them run their own system and they are their own boss.
"The online community is one of the few branches of the entertainment and media business that is dominated, if not run by, women," Gordon wrote. "But yet you equate what we are doing to something as trite as '14 ways to cook a turkey."
Jill Robbins of the blog Ripped Jeans and Bifocals also penned her letter to Witherspoon. She felt the actress belittled mommy bloggers and their stories with her comment. She pointed out that theirs is a community that supports each other's' interest, where moms build connections even if it's about 14 ways to cook a turkey.
Kristen Chase of Cool Mom Picks unleashed her opinions on Twitter in a series of posts. She said she loves Witherspoon but the actress' comment was a generalization. She also highlighted Witherspoon posted turkey and Thanksgiving preparations on her lifestyle site Draper James, which doesn't differentiate her from mommy bloggers.
Witherspoon has not responded to the backlash as of press time.
