Reese Witherspoon wants fans to know she would “never” try and scam them after being impersonated online amid a “large scale” celebrity fake out.
“Hey, this is important. I want to just tell you what I’ve been dealing with for the past 24 hours,” Witherspoon, 49, began a TikTok video on Wednesday, January 14, posted from her verified account.
The Morning Show star revealed, “There are multiple people on TikTok and Instagram impersonating me, and they go into people’s DMs and they try to build a relationship.”
Witherspoon explained that the scammers try to “extract personal information, plan meet-up times” with people, claiming they are the actress.
“I want you to know this is not me,” she said in the solemn message. “It’s so upsetting that people would use my name to manipulate people. But I want you to know that I would never ever manipulate you.”
The Oscar winner reassured her followers that she “would never reach out” to them for “money, for private information” or to “create a meet-up time.”
Witherspoon instructed fans to “please look at these accounts that are doing this and make sure they’re verified” when it comes to requests allegedly from her or others.
“This is not just me, this is happening across the board, but it’s really upsetting to me that this is happening on such a large scale,” the actress shared. “So, please be careful out there and please know I would never reach out to you to manipulate you or to take anything from you, OK?”
Witherspoon reiterated her own intentions in the caption, which read, “I would never manipulate you. Please check for verification. ❤️.”
Witherspoon is the latest celebrity to speak out about social media impersonators. Sandra Bullock revealed in February 2025 that online scammers were pretending to be her sister Gesine Bullock-Prado, which left her worried about her loved one’s safety.
Reese Witherspoon. Courtesy of Reese Witherspoon/Instagram
“My family’s safety, as well as the innocent people being taken advantage of, is my deep concern,” Bullock, 61, told People in a statement at the time. “And there will be a time when I will comment more, but for now our focus is helping law enforcement handle this matter.”
The Practical Magic actress then warned others to be vigilant online. “Please be aware that I do not participate in any form of social media,” Bullock said. “Any accounts pretending to be me or anyone associated with me are fake accounts and have been created for financial gain or to exploit people around me.”
Prior to learning she was being impersonated online, Witherspoon shared a heartfelt message with her followers about the little wins in life as she kicked off 2026.
“So grateful for the quiet parts, the long days, the stories, and the people behind everything I get to do. 💛,” Witherspoon captioned an Instagram post on Sunday, January 11.
She highlighted the people and things in her life that make it better on the daily, including “things that never make the press release” and “the conversations with my kids that change how I see everything.” (Witherspoon shares daughter Ava, 26, and son Deacon, 22, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe. She also shares son Tennessee, 13, with ex-husband Jim Toth.)
Witherspoon said she is grateful for “the hours I spend reading stories long before anyone hears about them” and “the advice I still call my mom for.”
The Big Little Lies alum also gave a shout-out to her team, friends and the power of being able to overcome “the amount of times I’ve been told ‘no’” adding that they have helped her get to where she is now.
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