Reese Witherspoon sat down for her first post-arrest interview and revealed "crazy things" about the night of her, now infamous, incident -- including the fact that she told the cop she was pregnant.
The 37-year-old actress spoke with "Good Morning America" host George Stephanopoulos on Thursday. Although she was there to talk about the success of her indie flick, "Mud," the topic of conversation focused mainly on her April 19 arrest in Atlanta. Her husband, Jim Toth, was pulled over on suspicion of DUI and she was later arrested for disorderly conduct after attempting to intervene during the stop.
Witherspoon called the arrest completely unacceptable, saying she and Toth had too much to drink that night and are very "embarrassed." But Stephanopoulos wanted to broach the elephant in the room -- Witherspoon's inappropriate comments to the arresting officer.
"You've been under the spotlight your whole adult life and this doesn't sound like the Reese Witherspoon most of us know," he said.
"I know, I agree," she responded. "I have no idea what I was saying that night. I saw him arresting my husband and I literally panicked. And I said all kinds of crazy things. I told him I was pregnant. I'm not pregnant."
"I am so sorry," she added. "I was so disrespectful to him. I have police officers in my family. I work with police officers every day. I know better. It's just unacceptable."
She admits the hardest part of the entire ordeal is talking about it with her older children, Ava, 13, and Deacon, 9. "When you make a mistake you have to take responsibility. And we are taking responsibility and doing everything in our power to make it right. You just have to be honest with them."
Friends of the Oscar-winner have come to her defense in the wake of the incident.
Michael Buble told ET Canada that Witherspoon handled it with "graciousness and class and great dignity." Her "Mud" co-star, Matthew McConaughey praised her for being honest and addressing the public in such a frank way. Chelsea Handler reasoned that "everybody makes mistakes" and she was just trying to protect her husband.
The actress best known for roles in "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Walk The Line" is recognized as one of America's sweethearts. Although some questioned if her image would suffer because of the scandal, it is clear graciousness is an intrinsic part of her character.
“You have to be the best version of yourself and, if that means you have to be a bit self-promoting, then it’s okay," Witherspoon told the U.K.'s Red magazine before the arrest. “Because Lord knows every day is not a success. Every year is not a success. You have to celebrate the good.”
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