Home / Arts and Entertainment / Reese Witherspoon Avoided 'SNL' for 15 Years After Traumatic Post-9/11 Hosting Debut
Reese Witherspoon Avoided 'SNL' for 15 Years After Traumatic Post-9/11 Hosting Debut
3 Nov, 2025
Summary
- Reese Witherspoon's disastrous 'SNL' hosting debut in 2001 after 9/11
- Witherspoon was just 24 years old and a new mom at the time
- She "completely left her body" during the episode and did not return for 15 years
In 2025, Reese Witherspoon reflected on her disastrous 'SNL' hosting debut in 2001, just weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At the time, Witherspoon was 24 years old and fresh off the success of "Legally Blonde." Lorne Michaels personally called her to host the first 'SNL' episode after 9/11, saying he "really needed" her to come out and "tell America we gotta laugh again."
Despite being a new mom with a one-year-old child, Witherspoon felt compelled to take on the responsibility due to her "southern and military ethics." However, the pressure proved too much, and she said she "completely left her body" during the episode. Witherspoon did not return to 'SNL' for the next 15 years, saying the experience was "just too much responsibility for a 24-year-old girl."
Witherspoon's post-9/11 'SNL' episode famously began with then-New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani giving an impassioned speech, surrounded by firefighters and police officers. Paul Simon then appeared to sing "The Boxer" before the show returned to its more traditional sketches and Witherspoon's monologue. Lorne Michaels praised Witherspoon's "fearless" decision to host during that difficult time.
