Reese Witherspoon has used her appearance at the Oscars to publicise the #AskHerMore campaign, which is designed to discourage the now-traditional question “What are you wearing” – and persuade reporters to ask women about their creative endeavours.
Witherspoon arrived at the Academy awards ceremony as a best actress nominee for Wild, but announced earlier in the day that she would not name the designer of her dress.
In a post on Instagram, Witherspoon wrote: “I love the Oscars AND fashion like many of you - & am excited to share #WhoAmIWearing later tonight. (not yet!!) But I’d also love to answer some of these [questions] ...There are so many amazing, talented nominees this year..! Let’s hear their stories.”
During the Oscar red-carpet pre-show, Witherspoon told ABC’s interviewer Robin Roberts: “This is a movement to say we’re more than just our dresses. There are 44 nominees this year that are women and we are so happy to be here and talk about the work that we’ve done. It’s hard being a woman in Hollywood, or any industry.”
Witherspoon’s stance appeared to strike a chord, with supportive tweets from the likes of Lena Dunham and Shonda Rimes.
In recent years Witherspoon has moved into film production, working on a string of women-oriented projects, including Gone Girl and Wild, and acquiring a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most high-profile feminists.
However, Witherspoon then tweeted details of her outfit seven hours after her original post.
The Academy Awards are taking place at the Dolby theatre in Los Angeles and are being hosted by Gone Girl star Neil Patrick Harris.
