Chelsea Handler says Reese Witherspoon and son Deacon Phillippe ‘look like a couple’ in birthday photo
Chelsea Handler says Reese Witherspoon and son Deacon Phillippe ‘look like a couple’ in birthday photo
Wesley StenzelFri, October 23, 2026 at 11:43 PM UTC
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Chelsea Handler in New York City on Jan. 7, 2026; Reese Witherspoon and Deacon PhillippeCredit: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty; Reese Witherspoon/InstagramKey points -
Reese Witherspoon shared an Instagram post commemorating her son, Deacon Phillippe, turning 23.
Chelsea Handler remarked that Witherspoon and Phillippe “look like a couple” in the photo.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Mindy Kaling, and other actresses also commented on the posts.
Chelsea Handler is making it weird.
The comedian shared a strikingly off-color comment on Reese Witherspoon‘s Instagram post celebrating the 23rd birthday of her son Deacon Phillippe.
“Happy Birthday, Deacon,” Handler wrote. “You two look like a couple in the first slide.”
The photo in question features Witherspoon leaning against her son’s shoulder as they both stand on the beach.
“Happy Birthday to my son Deacon, who is turning 23 today,” Witherspoon wrote in her caption. “The year you were born, there was a fire in LA. Raging all around us. Somehow that fire forged you.”
She continued, “You were born into the light, you carry it inside you, and you help us see it in ourselves. I love you so much, so lucky to be your mom.”
Deacon Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon in New York City on Oct. 29, 2024Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty
Witherspoon shares Deacon with her ex-husband and Cruel Intentions costar Ryan Phillippe. The ex-couple also shares a daughter, Ava, 27. Witherspoon also shares another son, Tennessee Toth, 14, with her ex Jim Toth.
Witherspoon’s post inspired well-wishes from other actresses in the comments section.
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“Happy Birthday, you gorgeous boy! 23. Wow,” Gwyneth Paltrow wrote.
“23!!! Happy birthday Deacon! ❤️,” Mindy Kaling added.
Nina Dobrev, Kristin Chenoweth, and Tara Strong also shared birthday messages on the post.
Deacon has primarily focused his career on music, releasing two albums and a number of additional singles so far. He recorded one song, “Slow Down,” with Magnus Ferrell, the son of Will Ferrell, for the soundtrack of You’re Cordially Invited, which starred the Anchorman actor and Witherspoon.
Deacon made his acting debut in Kaling’s Never Have I Ever in 2022. He later appeared in six episodes of Prime Video’s Motorheads, which also stars his father, in 2025.
Witherspoon reflected on parenting adult children in a 2021 Interview magazine conversation with Tracee Ellis Ross.
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“I never expected the kind of relationship that I have with them, but it’s so rewarding to be able to have kids that you can process life with a little bit, and they help me understand the complexities of what it means to be a human now,” she said. “So I’m really, really grateful that these little humans are in my life. Adult humans. I have two adult children now, Tracee. It’s crazy.”
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
