Reese Witherspoon slams James Bond films for misogyny

Reese Witherspoon isn’t mincing words when it comes to how women are portrayed in classic James Bond movies. 

The Oscar-winning actress called out the franchise for objectifying women, saying that the image of bikini-clad “Bond Girls” no longer fits the stories women deserve to see on screen.

“Women deserve better stories because women save the day all the time,” Witherspoon said. “We are not wearing bikinis while we do it.”

The Legally Blonde star criticized how female characters in the spy series — such as those famously played by Halle Berry and Ursula Andress — have long been portrayed through a lens of glamour and sexualization rather than strength and complexity.

Witherspoon, who was in London to promote her new co-written novel Gone Before Goodbye, also reflected on the direction Hollywood is heading. 

In a recent interview with The New York Times, she discussed how evolving attention spans and the rise of artificial intelligence are changing the movie industry.

“I noticed my kids weren’t going to the movies,” she said. 

“I had teenage kids. I went to the movies every Friday and Saturday night. Kids don’t go to the movies. Usually, people are seeing one movie a year in the theaters with their kids.”

She added, “You’ve got to go where the audience is, not lament the fact that they didn’t show up or have what I call ‘old-school-itis,’ which is like, ‘Well, in my day.’ Well, it just doesn’t work that way! Attention spans are shifting. The way we make movies is going to change radically in the next two to three years.”

Known for her strong and independent roles in films like Walk the Line and Cruel Intentions, Witherspoon has long been an advocate for women’s empowerment in Hollywood. 

She’s currently set to appear in the upcoming season of The Morning Show alongside Jennifer Aniston, a series that also tackles themes of gender dynamics and media power.

From her early days starring in local commercials to becoming one of Hollywood’s most respected voices, Witherspoon continues to challenge the narratives that have defined women on screen, this time taking a hard jab at one of cinema’s most iconic franchises.