Reese Witherspoon apologizes for drunkenly threatening cop, getting arrested

“Do you know who I am?” she asked the arresting officer

The Reese Witherspoon camp is playing damage control Tuesday in the wake of an “embarrassing” DUI incident involving Witherspoon and her husband.

In case you missed the events last week, here is a recap: an intoxicated Reese Witherspoon was being driven home by also intoxicated husband Jim Toth, who was reportedly driving in the wrong lane when a cop pulled him over.

He blew a 0.139 on the breathalyzer test (well above the legal limit) and was promptly arrested. But Reese Witherspoon, frustrated by the situation, pulled the celebrity card.

Witherspoon allegedly told the police officer, “do you know who I am?”

The officer responded with indifference and told her to stay in the car.

Ignoring the policeman’s orders, Witherspoon got out of her car and told the officer, “you are about to find out who I am…you’re going to be on national news.”

And he was, just not the way Witherspoon imagined. The cop arrested Witherspoon for disorderly conduct and Witherspoon’s PR nightmare began.

“He made a bad decision and it certainly made things worse that he dragged her into it,” a source close to Jim Toth told People Magazine.

“No one would be surprised if Jim goes to rehab,” another source told People.

And Witherspoon did some apologizing of her own.

“I do want to say I clearly had one drink too many and I am deeply embarrassed about the things I said,” Witherspoon said in a statement. “It was definitely a scary situation and I was frightened for my husband, but that was no excuse. I was disrespectful to the officer who was just doing his job. The words I used that night definitely do not reflect who I am. I have nothing but respect for the police and I am very sorry for my behavior.”

Witherspoon was scheduled to appear on Good Morning America and Jimmy Fallon’s late night show this week, but she cancelled her appearances.