Chick flicks have always found a huge audience base looking for a comfort watch. But the genre rarely ventured beyond boy troubles, a few laughs, and some awe-inspiring moments, especially in the ‘90s. So, when Legally Blonde, starring Reese Witherspoon, offered something beyond the usual stereotypical genre-defining tropes, the audience welcomed it with open arms and made it a cultural phenomenon.

Outside all of its goofiness, Legally Blonde is a subversive tale of a young girl, Elle Woods, who ventures into a field dominated by men and excels at it against all expectations. Even after 25 years, Reese Witherspoon's classic stands the test of time, transitioning from a standard early 2000s comedy into an unlikely feminist flick.

But now, Witherspoon has tearfully bid farewell to her iconic role and passed the baton to new Elle - Lexi Minetree.

As the actors of the cherished 2001 comedy reunited for the 25th anniversary at Prime Video’s Elle World event and passed the Legally Blonde franchise on to the following generation, it felt as if their roles had come full circle. Reese Witherspoon broke down in tears on Saturday at Hall Des Lumieres in New York City, praising Lexi Minetree's "beautiful heart" and remembering her audition for Elle Woods in Prime Video's prequel series Elle, which will debut on the streaming service on July 1.

“I have to tell you, When I saw Lexi Minetree in her video, it stopped me, it took my breath away. She understood—I’m gonna cry again—she’s just such an incredible person,” Witherspoon said during a panel moderated by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers.

The actress went on to describe Minetree’s audition tape for the series. She and her mother had reenacted the entire Harvard admissions video in their backyard. She mentioned in the tape that even though she was not sure she would get the part, she was willing to go the extra mile. The tape also featured the glittering bikinis, which seemed to be made by her, and she also had that iconic "I object!" scene from the video reenacted. According to Witherspoon, it all felt "divine."

The actress found her to be incredible in the audition tape, but still wanted to talk to her. Therefore, she scheduled a Zoom but had already made up her mind to give her the job anyway. The purpose of the call, however, was to prepare her for the massive responsibility she was going to undertake. Little girls would be looking up to her, and she needed to understand what the role meant for them.

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The actress lavished Minetree with praises and detailed why she is comfortable handing off the role to her.

At the Elle World event hosted by Amazon Prime, the entire event was basically about Reese Witherspoon passing on the baton and the role of Elle Woods to Lexi Minetree. Elle Woods from the original Legally Blonde movie sang praises for her successor, calling her an incredibly disciplined, talented young woman with a beautiful heart.

The actress was extremely proud to hand on the pink torch to Lexi Minetree as the next Elle Woods after she shared details about her life, family, and character with Witherspoon. The Legally Blonde prequel, Elle, which also features Zac Looker, Jacob Moskovitz, Chandler Kinney, Gabrielle Policano, Tom Everett Scott, and June Diane Raphael besides Lexi Minetree, will make its debut on Prime Video on July 1, 2026.

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What do you think of the new Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde prequel? Do let us know.