Reese Witherspoon Faces Backlash After Encouraging Women to Learn AI

A Hollywood actor and producer is in hot water after encouraging women to learn AI. Reese Witherspoon shared an Instagram post with women that encourages them to learn AI, but the Legally Blonde star's advice did not go as planned.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the post was viewed more than 3 million times, and while she got support from her famous friends like Kerry Washington and CAA agent Maha Dakhil, many fans weren't so enthusiastic about Reese and AI.

Reese shared a video on Instagram on April 15, 2026, and she said that she recently told her book club it was time to learn AI, as she encouraged other women to learn as well.

“I said to the 10 of them, ‘How many of you guys use AI?’ And only three of them used AI," said Reese. "And then I said, ‘How many of the three of you feel like you really know what you’re doing or they’re using it the right way?’ And that was only one person."

"So, if three out of 10 women are the only ones using AI, that means 70 percent of that group is not keeping up," she added. "The thing I’ve learned about technology is if you don’t get a little bit of understanding from the very beginning, it just speeds past you. So you have to have little bits of learning just to keep up.”

Reese also shared a caption with the post asking women if they wanted to learn AI with her.

"Well … I’ve decided it’s TIME. The AI revolution has begun, and I need to learn as much as I possibly can about AI and share it with all of you," she wrote. "Also, FYI: the jobs women hold are 3x more likely to be automated by AI, yet women are using AI at a rate 25 percent lower than men on average. We don’t want to be left behind. So … Do you want to learn with me?"

Fans didn't react the way Reese thought they would. According to MIT News, AI has a negative impact on the environment due to the amount of water and electricity needed to power the software, and one fan replied, "We aren’t using it because of the environmental impact that it has!"

Several more fans agreed, with one writing, "This! Until we have found an eco-friendly way to power this beast, I’m not here for it," while another added, "I am shocked that more people don’t care about this aspect!!!"

"The amount of water alone that it requires should concern us all," another fan noted. "I know all I need to know: It’s a huge waste of our resources. No, thank you."

Reese turned off her comments on the video following the backlash, but she left the video on her Instagram page, so it's unclear if she is concerned with the environmental aspects of her AI advice for women.