“Legally Blonde” star Reese Witherspoon is done with legal issues in Atlanta stemming from her recent arrest.
“The pending criminal matters against Ms. Reese Witherspoon and Mr. Jim Toth have been resolved,” Ronda “Roni” Graham, deputy solicitor for the Municipal Court of Atlanta, said in a statement.
“Witherspoon entered a nolo contendere (no contest) plea to the ordinance violation of disorderly conduct, and paid a fine of $100,” Graham’s statement continued. “Mr. Toth entered a guilty plea to the charge of DUI, a misdemeanor, and received a standard sentence for a first-time offender, which includes a $600 fine, as well as the requirements that he complete 40 hours of community service and a risk reduction program.”
Witherspoon and Toth, her husband, were arrested following an early morning traffic stop on April 19. She spoke publicly for the first time about the incident during a Thursday appearance on “Good Morning America.”
“We thought we were fine to drive and we absolutely were not,” she said. “It’s just completely unacceptable and we are so sorry and embarrassed. We know better. We shouldn’t have done that.”
She was gracious and humble throughout her visit, a contrast to the arrest video showing her arguing with the arresting officer.
“Do you know my name?” Witherspoon asked that night, according to the now widely disseminated bit of independent filmmaking. “You are going to be on national news.”
She was half-right about that, grabbing headlines herself about the incident that followed a traffic stop. The arrest video shows Toth quietly complying with the arresting officer’s orders, while his wife got into a verbal row.
“I am so sorry. I was so disrespectful,” Witherspoon said during the “GMA” visit, adding that she has police officers in her family and often works with law enforcement. The hardest part, she added, is discussing the incident with her kids.
“When a police officer tells you to stay in the car, you stay in the car,” she said. “I learned that for sure.”
The Oscar-winning actress has been in Atlanta to work on “The Good Lie,” which is just about done filming here. The project shot scenes this week at a Cheshire Bridge Road Waffle House and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, while previous locations have included Peachtree Baptist Church, a downtown gallery, a factory in Alpharetta and Sugarloaf Mills Mall.
In addition to making “The Good Lie” and working on damage control, Witherspoon is promoting the movie “Mud,” a superb film starring Matthew McConaughey as a quirky drifter driven by his lifetime devotion to Juniper, the tragic figure Witherspoon plays. In “The Good Lie,” Witherspoon plays a woman who assists a refugee who relocates from Africa to America. It’s due to wrap here soon and then moves to Africa.
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