- The Legally Blonde family came together to kick off the franchise’s upcoming prequel series and celebrate the original film’s 25th anniversary.
- The cast members gathered for a fan event, where they also passed on the pink baton to Lexi Minetree as the new Elle Woods.
- During the discussion, Witherspoon was emotional when she was asked about the iconic rol
The Legally Blonde family came together to kick off the franchise's upcoming prequel series and celebrate the original film's 25th anniversary. The cast of the hit 2001 comedy gathered at Manhattan's Hall des Lumières on Saturday for a fan event, where they also passed on the pink baton to Lexi Minetree as the new Elle Woods.
The event saw Reese Witherspoon (Elle Woods herself) step out alongside Jennifer Coolidge (salon owner and trusted confidante Paulette Bonafonté), Selma Blair (Elle's antagonist-turned-bestie Vivian Kensington), Ali Larter (accused murderer Brooke Taylor Windham), Matthew Davis (jerk ex-boyfriend Warner Huntington III), and Victor Garber (ruthless Harvard professor Aaron Callahan).
At the event, the stars also participated in a panel conversation that swung from hilarious to sentimental to downright emotional.
‘Privilege Of My Life:' Reese Witherspoon
During the discussion, Witherspoon burst into tears when she was asked about the impact of her iconic fashionista lawyer role.
“When I walked in and I saw this moment, it just felt like it was galvanizing how I felt about playing this character — I'm gonna cry,” Witherspoon told the crowd, tearing up. “Playing this character for 25 years has been the privilege of my life.”
She went on to say, “People come up to me and they tell me stories about how they go to law school because of her or they named their daughter Elle or they overcame some incredible challenge in their life because she did that. She went through this experience of feeling like everybody was looking down on her or judging her, and I don't know a person on Earth who hasn't felt like an underdog in some situation.”
Reese Witherspoon On Passing The Pink Torch
She was also emotional while passing “the pink torch” to Lexi. Assuring fans, the franchise is in safe hands, she hailed the actress saying, “So, I wanna say on top of being this incredibly disciplined, talented young woman, she has such a beautiful heart.”
“And she told me things about her life and her family and things that just showed me her character, and I just could not be more proud to pass the baton or the pink torch to Lexi Minetree as the new Elle Woods. I love you so much. You have no idea. I'm just so proud of you,” the 50-year-old star added.
Recalling the 25-year-old's “divine” audition tape, Reese shared that she was blown away as Lexi went to great lengths to make sure she stood out by recreating the iconic video Elle recorded for her Harvard Law School admissions application in the film.
Reese said, “I have to tell you, When I saw Lexi Minetree in her video, it stopped me, it took my breath away. She understood - I'm gonna cry again - she's just such an incredible person.”
“She had gone into her backyard with her mom and recreated the whole Harvard admissions video. She hadn't just filmed a tape, she was like, ‘I don't even know if I'm going to get this part, but I'm going to put that extra effort into this.' She had sparkly bikinis. She did the little walk and the guy touched her butt, and she's like, ‘I object!' And there was something divine about it.,” she concluded.
The Legally Blonde franchise first began in 2001, with the hit film starring Reese Witherspoon. It became a pop culture favourite, which later led to a sequel, a Broadway musical, and now a prequel series.
Mark your calendars! Elle is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video on July 1.