Reese Witherspoon sued over offer of free Draper James dress for teachers amid coronavirus
ACTRESS Reese Witherspoon has been sued over a Draper James dress giveaway for teachers launched amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Little Fires Everywhere star founded the clothing line in 2015 and was named in honor of Witherspoon's grandparents, Dorothea Draper and William James Witherspoon.
Yet, the brand has come into trouble after it offered a "free dress" to teachers as a "thank you" for all their hard work on an April Instagram post.
The social media offer read: "Dear Teachers: We want to say thank you. During quarantine we see you working harder than every to educate our children.
"To show our gratitude, Draper James would like to give teachers a free dress."
The post then urged educators to apply for the "free" garment by completing a form by April 5 and that winners would be notified April 7.
The caption also noted that the offer was valid while supplies last.
However, three women are now seeking class action status for a lawsuit against the actress and her clothing line alleging that teachers were expecting free dresses instead of being entered into a lottery for a limited supply.
According to , the lawsuit alleged that participants were required to provide personal information to Draper James, including contact information and education employment ID information.
The plaintiffs have claimed that the offer didn't make it clear Draper James only had 250 dresses to give away and believed all educators, which was near one million, would get a dress when in fact they were being entered into a lottery.
The lawsuit also alleged that the cost of the 250 dress was an "estimated paltry $12,500 in actual cost" to the star and Draper James ..."at a time when other individuals of ['s renown were offering millions of dollars to COVID-19 victims."
The three women also claimed that Reese and her company profited from publicity about the dress giveaway, which was mentioned on Today and Good Morning America.
In light of the lawsuit, Draper James' attorney Theane Evangelis told TMZ: "This lawsuit is an unjust attempt to exploit Draper James' good intentions to honor the teacher community by gifting hundreds of free dresses.
"The fact that supplies were limited, such that a free dress could not be provided to every teacher who responded, was disclosed and is no basis for a lawsuit.
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"Draper James looks forward to defending this case, to continuing its efforts to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions made by teachers during this time of need, and to being vindicated in court."
Reese currently appears in Amazon Prime's Little Fires Everywhere, which she executive produced, opposite Kerry Washinton.
Aside from Draper James, the Legally Blonde star runs her production company Hello Sunshine, which was set up in 2016 to produced content to tell women's stories.