Becoming the next Elle Woods — what, like it’s hard?
Reese Witherspoon has just named the next Elle Woods, Lexi Minetree, leaving the 24-year-old stunned and feeling like she may have just hallucinated.
Witherspoon, 48, who originated the role of the Harvard Law Student in the 2001 movie “Legally Blonde,” posted the clip on her Instagram on Thursday.
Minetree, wearing a bright pink blouse and matching pink heels, greeted the “Hello Sunshine” founder before nervously sitting down next to her on a couch.
“Your audition tape was amazing, as we talked about,” Witherspoon said as a clip of Minetree’s audition tape recreating Elle Woods’ Harvard submission video played. “We had to make a really hard decision the other day and we wanted to tell you in person because you just worked really hard.”
Faking Minetree out with a serious expression and a pause, she immediately broke real news, stating, “We just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to audition anymore because you got the part. You’re Elle Woods!”
“Really? Can I hug you please?” Minetree asked Witherspoon through tears before the two blondes embraced.
The young star then called her mom where both the accountant and Witherspoon marveled at just how similar they sound.
“When I saw her tape, I was like, ‘Are we the same person?’ “ the Oscar winner mused.
Minetree sweetly pumped her fist, shouting, “ME!” just as Elle Woods does in the film when she receives her legal internship.
“Allow me to introduce you to the new Elle Woods!” Witherspoon captioned her post. “After watching so many incredible auditions for the new Elle prequel series on @PrimeVideo, we finally found our Elle. And today, I got to break the news myself! Meet @leximinetree.”
Echoing her mentor’s sentiments, Minetree praised the “Sweet Home Alabama” alum in her own post, writing, “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to @reesewitherspoon for handing me down Elle Woods. I already love her so so much, I promise she’s in good hands. P.S. thank you for showing me how amazing I am going to look in the future, soooo looking forward to that:).”
The producer recently shed light upon what inspired the revival of Elle Woods and the new Prime Video series.
“I saw that Wednesday Addams show, I loved it, I watched every single episode,” Witherspoon explained on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Jan. 29. “I thought it was amazing. I was like, ‘We should do Elle Woods in high school!’ Because I wanted to see who she was before college, before law school, and I started having all these ideas. And all these amazing writers came up with this great pitch and now Amazon is making a show and it’s called ‘Elle.’”
“I’m really excited. We start in March,” she told People about production last month.
“It’s so exciting too, to watch these young girls that are so filled with enthusiasm and excitement and completely… There’s so many good ones,” Witherspoon continued. “That’s the hard thing because there’s so many good people to choose from.’
“Elle” was first announced last May, with the actress releasing a statement at the time about what viewers could expect.
“Fans will get to know how Elle Woods navigated her world as a teenager with her distinct personality and ingenuity, in ways that only our beloved Elle could do,” Witherspoon – who also serves as an executive producer – said.
The mom-of-three also starred in the sequel to the romcom: “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde,” in 2003.
While reflecting on the 20th anniversary of “Legally Blonde,” Witherspoon gushed over how the film change the course of her life.
“Omigod you guys ….#LegallyBlondepremiered 20 years ago TODAY!” she wrote on Instagram in 2021. “Time flies when you’re busy using legal jargon in your every day life. But truly… playing Elle Woods was the role of a life time and I’m so honored to have been a part of sharing her story with you all. Every meme, graduation cap, musical number, halloween costume and bend & snap has brought me so much JOY over these past two decades! I wonder… what will Elle do next?”
