Reese Witherspoon Faces Backlash Over AI Comments
Actress Reese Witherspoon, 50, is taking heat after posting an Instagram video encouraging women to learn more about how to use artificial intelligence to protect their careers and make life easier.
"It's time to learn about AI," she began the video on April 15. The The Morning Show star explained that she was surprised to learn that only three of the 10 women in her book club were using tools like ChatGPT and Claude, and she wants to change that.
"That means 70% of that group is not keeping up," she said. "The thing I've learned about technology is if you don't get a little bit of understanding from the very beginning, it just speeds past you. So you have to have little bits of learning just to keep up."
She also insisted that since "our kids are all using this every single day," it's important for parents to understand the tools, too. "I think we should learn the basics together and learn some really good tools that are going to make our everyday lives easier and better," she concluded. "It's time, people."
In the caption, Witherspoon added that she feared for women's careers. "The jobs women hold are 3x more likely to be automated by AI, yet women are using AI at a rate 25% lower than men on average," she wrote. "We don't want to be left behind."
Many followers were upset by the assertion, and took to the comments to explain why her statement bothered them so much. "We aren't using it because of the environmental impact that it has!" said one follower, while another wrote, "I hope as a fellow creative and author, you speak about the theft of people's work. Copyright is a huge issue." A third added, "From someone that will never have to deal with living near a data center [face palm emoji. href="https://parade.com/living/emoji-meanings"]"
Other followers were excited to see Witherspoon talking about the topic.Scandal actress Kerry Washington wrote "THIS," while a fan added, "Curious to know more!" Another wrote, "I hate that you're right about this. But you are."
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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 10:55 AM.