Reese Witherspoon blasts unsupportive actresses

Reese Witherspoon thinks actresses aren't supportive enough of one another.

The 'Water for Elephants' star - who recently married Hollywood agent Jim Toth - can't understand why women have to be so competitive and hates the way people are judged on the way they look.

She said: "When we start measuring women on their appearance. We're just too hard one ach other. Women need to be more supportive of each other, stop tearing each other apart.

"There's plenty of room for all of us. There's plenty of men for all of us. There's plenty of jobs. There's plenty of room! I really believe it.

"Another actress out there has a number one movie? They're going to make more movies about women. A female writer sells a script? They're going to look at another script from another woman. The better one woman does, the better all women do."

Reese - who has children Ava, 11, and seven-year-old Deacon with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe - finds it particularly irritating looking at coverage of awards ceremonies, as men are praised for their talent, while the focus on women is their outfits.

She told Britain's Elle magazine: "I feel for these women. The guys get dressed and it's no big deal, and they're there because they've given a great performance.

"For every woman, it is, 'What is she wearing?' And none of it is about her performance or how hard she worked - and those are the women who did extraordinary work. I'm not going to lie, it's fun to watch. But at a certain point, I go, 'Wait, strip it all down.'

"These women worked really hard and now it's reduced to, 'She looks frumpy'. How hard we are on people just doing their best."