Reese Witherspoon was told ‘silence is a condition of employment’ after being sexually assaulted at 16

Reese Witherspoon has said she would not have spoken out earlier about being sexually assaulted when she was 16 as “silence was a condition of my employment”.

The actor revealed that new series The Morning Show, in which she stars alongside Jennifer Aniston, led to her reflecting upon her own past traumas of harassment and assault.

The series follows a male newscaster (Steve Carell), who is accused of sexual harassment to the shock of his long-term co-host, Alex (Aniston). Witherspoon plays the presenter who is brought in to replace Mitch.

In a new interview with The Guardian, Witherspoon – who previously revealed she was assaulted by a director when she was 16 and was instructed by agents and producers to stay quiet – said: “I wish 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.”

While saying she experienced “guilt” for not coming forward with her story at the time, the actor stated she doesn’t wish she could have spoken out sooner.

“No. It was a culture of silence and silence was a condition of my employment,” she said when asked. “That’s what I was told.”

Witherspoon has been a leading force in the Time’s Up movement, which was formulated in the wake of the allegations against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein

Read our review of The Morning Show here.