Reese Witherspoon Won’t Back Down When It Comes to Her Decision to Eat Snow

“You only live once.”

Reese Witherspoon on TikTok
(Image credit: TikTok)

Just in case you somehow missed it, the wide world of the internet is up in arms because Reese Witherspoon made what she called a “chococinno,” featuring a controversial ingredient: snow.

Reese Witherspoon on TikTok

The infamous treat in question

(Image credit: TikTok)

It all started innocently enough on TikTok (famous last words) when Witherspoon “Decided to make a recipe.” She christened this unique frozen beverage a “snow salt Chococinno”—and the universe freaked out.

“Okay, so we’ve had a ton of snow over the past few days,” Witherspoon said. “We decided to make a recipe.” The video showed someone scooping large chunks of snow off of what appeared to be a vehicle, People reports, and dropping it into coffee mugs. Witherspoon then added salted caramel syrup and chocolate syrup into the mugs, “just ‘cause we like how they taste together,” she said. Cold brew completed the concoction for a “yummy coffee flavor,” Witherspoon added, before enjoying the cold treat. “This is so good,” she exclaimed after taking a spoonful.

She captioned her TikTok “Snow days were made for Chococinnos.” (And Witherspoon jokes were made for this moment. Get it? With-her-spoon? Yeah. I'll see myself out now.)

Reese Witherspoon during awards season 2024

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Fans grew concerned that the Oscar winner was eating snow—like, really concerned. “No no no..snow is not made to eat..u can get seriously sick,” one commented. Another chimed in with the sage advice (and conciliatory words) that “Fallen snow can be very dirty from the air and wind but who cares. You only live once. I remember eating snow as a kid.”

But Witherspoon, the brave warrior that she is, didn’t back down from her decision to eat snow. Possibly adopting the mantra of the aforementioned fan, Witherspoon came back on camera for a follow-up video and said “Okay, so we’re kind of in a category of ‘You only live once’ and it snows maybe once a year here. I don’t know! Also, I want to say something: It was delicious. It was so good.” 

Reese Witherspoon during awards season 2024

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Her defense of the decision continued in another clip: “Okay, talking about the snow not being filtered, I didn’t grow up drinking filtered water,” Witherspoon said. “We drank out of the tap water. We actually put our mouths on the tap and then sometimes, like in the summer when it was hot, we drank out of the hose—like, we put our mouth on the hose, growing up.”

Reese Witherspoon during awards season 2024

(Image credit: Getty Images)

She further quipped “Maybe that’s why I’m like this. So what you’re saying to me is I have to filter the snow before I eat it? I just can’t. Filtered snow. I don’t know how to do that.”

Stand firm, Reese. We’ve got your back. Filtered snow has no place here.

Rachel Burchfield
Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.