Why Reese Witherspoon thinks it’s healthy to embarrass her kids

She doesn’t have “Cruel Intentions.”

Reese Witherspoon believes it is important to embarrass her three kids so they grow up with a good sense of humor.

The “Legally Blonde” star defended humiliating her daughter, Ava, 25, and sons, Deacon, 21, and Tennessee, 12, during an interview on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” Wednesday.

Reese Witherspoon shared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” Wednesday that she thinks it’s healthy to embarrass her children. Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images She is a mom to three kids: Ava, Deacon and Tennessee. Reese Witherspoon/Instagram “I think you should embarrass them enough that they’re funny later in life,” the actress said. Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images

“You are one of the coolest moms, I would say,” Jimmy Fallon told Witherspoon. “Your kids gotta be proud of you, but also, you post things [online] that make you embarrassed. … I love that about you.”

The actress, 48, chimed in to confirm that she doesn’t feel any shame over her silly social media presence — but she can’t say the same for her offspring.

“My children, however …” she said, trailing off before noting, “but that’s their journey.”

Witherspoon noted that she never gets embarrassed by the silly things she posts online. Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images Jimmy Fallon assured the Oscar winner that it’s “kind of [her] job” to humiliate her children. Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images

Fallon explained that it is “kind of [Witherspoon’s] job” as a parent to make her kids feel uncomfortable.

“I think you should embarrass them enough that they’re funny later in life,” the “Your Place or Mine” star agreed.

Witherspoon also shared that she is amazed at how quickly her kids are growing up.

“They’re not children anymore. They’re adults,” she said before joking, “which is weird because I’m 30, you know? It’s weird, but sometimes it works that way.”

Witherspoon shares Ava and Deacon with her first husband, Ryan Phillippe. Instagram The “Legally Blonde” star welcomed Tennessee with her second ex-husband, Jim Toth. reesewitherspoon/Instagram

The Oscar winner shares Ava and Deacon with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, to whom she was married from 1999 to 2008.

She then went on to wed Jim Toth in 2011, and they welcomed Tennessee a year later.

However, Witherspoon and the talent agent, 54, announced they had separated in 2023.

“We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness, and mutual respect for everything we have created together,” they said in a joint statement at the time.

Witherspoon and Toth, seen here with her three kids, divorced in 2023. reesewitherspoon/Instagram She has been romantically linked to Oliver Haarmann (not pictured) since last summer. reesewitherspoon/Instagram

The “Morning Show” star subsequently filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. The exes settled the case four months later.

Witherspoon has since moved on with German financier Oliver Haarmann.

The couple confirmed their relationship while showing PDA in September 2024, two months after they first sparked romance rumors while out on a dinner date at West Village eatery L’Artusi.