Reese Witherspoon says she was sexually assaulted at age 16

Actress Reese Witherspoon has spoken out for the first time about sexual assault she endured when she was a teenager.

#MeToo https://t.co/q3oABdPRBO

— Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) October 17, 2017

Speaking at the Elle Women in Hollywood awards, she said she feels “true disgust at the director who assaulted me when I was 16-years-old and anger at the agents and the producers who made me feel that silence was a condition of my employment”. She continued saying: "I wish that I could tell you that was an isolated incident in my career, but sadly it wasn’t. I’ve had multiple experiences of harassment and sexual assault and I don’t speak about them very often.”

.@RWitherspoon says memories of abuse have "come back to me very vividly" this wk. She recalls being assaulted by a director at 16 #ELLEWIH pic.twitter.com/3sDGQfAZQJ

— Carly Mallenbaum (@ThatGirlCarly) October 17, 2017

The 41-year-old felt compelled to stand up and speak out as allegations towards Harvey Weinstein grow and the women of Hollywood realise that enough is enough. Speaking about the horrific past week where stories of women getting harassed continue to mount, Reese said: "After hearing all the stories these past few days and hearing these brave women speak up tonight about things that we’re kind of told to sweep under the rug and not to talk about, it’s made me want to speak up and speak up loudly.”  

Thanks for the courage it took to break your silence. I know it wasn't easy, but somewhere there's a girl you've helped to break theirs.

— Darcy Braden (@thebonniespot) October 17, 2017

The mother-of-three is not the only star that decided to speak her mind in light of the Harvey Weinstein chaos, Margot Robbie yesterday wrote a letter to Hollywood on behalf of all women stating that it's difficult to forge a career when your treated unequal. "But even those of us lucky enough to have established a career in the hallowed grounds of show business are still in the shadows of the big trees, constantly reminded that we only grow in the sunshine they allow us" she writes. Reese Witherspoon ended by saying she has felt less alone this week than she has ever felt before.