Actress Reese Witherspoon revealed on October 25 that Legally Blonde was initially going to take place at Stanford University, but the university had a rule against it. The tea came amid HBO’s Insecure gained permission to film on campus.
Insecure creator Issa Rae obtained permission to film on school grounds, and on October 24, she shared in a now-deleted tweet, “Shout out to @Stanford for breaking their ‘no filming’ rule for us!”
Witherspoon then replied in amazement at Stanford for having reversed their long-standing policy.
This is major! Fun fact : They would not let us film Legally Blonde there. So we went to Harvard instead 🙃🤷🏼♀️🤣
— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) October 25, 2021
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Witherspoon tweeted, “This is major! Fun fact: They would not let us film Legally Blonde there. So we went to Harvard instead.”
She followed up with another tweet sharing that she is an alumna of Stanford, saying, “Also Proud @Stanford alum here .. Fear the Tree!”
Also Proud @Stanford alum here 🙋🏼♀️.. Fear the Tree! 🌲
— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) October 25, 2021
According to Insider, Stanford has a blanket policy that prevents the usage of the school’s name in commercial films and filming on campus. According to the policy, the university had such a rule in place due to “year-round campus activity” to protect “the privacy and safety of its students, faculty, and staff.”
While Harvard University also has a rule against commercial film shooting on its campus, plenty of movies and shows feature the university as its setting due to its flexibility with using the Harvard name, according to The Los Angeles Times.
According to The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations, although Legally Blonde was set at Harvard University, campus scenes for the movie were filmed at the Rose City High School, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California Institute of Technology, and the University of California.
