Actress Reese Witherspoon says she has had enough of being the only woman on set, and wants to change it.
Witherspoon, who became a household name with 2001’s Legally Blonde, is one of Hollywood’s top-earning actresses. But it’s her latest project, Big Little Lies, that is making her proud as she has co-produced it with fellow Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman.
The show centres on three mothers who get caught in a murder mystery.
“For 25 years, I’ve been the only woman on set, so no other women to talk to. They call it the Smurfette Syndrome: There’s 100 smurfs around but she’s the only girl. So it’s refreshing to get to spend time with women,” Witherspoon said.
She added: “We have to start seeing women as they really are on film, we have to, and not just in movie theatres on a tiny budget. We need to see real women’s experience, whether it involves domestic violence, sexual assault, motherhood, romance, infidelity or divorce. These are the kinds of shows that shift consciousness.”
Witherspoon says she wants to be able to express herself, to show how important women are in our world. “We should be telling more stories like this,” she said.
