Elle’s Lexi Minetree Wants People To Acknowledge Their Privilege

Before Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods went to Harvard, she moved to Seattle and learned about activism, workers’ rights, and accepting everybody for who they are. Lexi Minetree, who plays the iconic character in prequel series Elle, wants viewers to learn about privilege as they watch the show.

“All of us come from different backgrounds and different ethnicities, and different points of privilege, points of income,” she tells Refinery29. “But I think the biggest thing to remember is that we can all learn from each other. And once you learn about other people, it’s important to [say], ‘Okay, well what can I do with that privilege? And how can I help the people around me?'” For the young actor, Elle Woods is the embodiment of that.

There are plenty of other lessons we can learn from Woods-Comma-Elle, including the appropriate hair care for fresh perms, how to create the perfect Harvard admissions video, and one way to get a guy’s attention. (The bend and snap, of course). But the feminist icon can actually impart some much-needed wisdom, including how to take responsibility for any hurt you cause.

“I think the biggest thing from this series, in particular, is it’s not about the mistakes that you make, it’s about how you handle it afterwards,” Minetree says. She notes that throughout life, we all engage in behaviour we’re not proud of, but that doesn’t define us. “It’s about having integrity and owning what you do, and I think in the show you get to see someone who’s not prideful, and really takes ownership of who she is, and [her] mistakes.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Refinery29 Australia (@refinery29au)

Minetree — who is as Elle Woods in real life as you’d expect — is under no illusion that the state of the world is, well, not in a great place at the moment. From the ongoing genocide in Gaza, to ICE and Trump causing devastation throughout the US, and that little thing called global warming, it’s hard to see the positives. That’s where Elle comes in. “Now there’s so much negativity in the world, I think it’s really nice to have a character out there who sees the world in such a beautiful way,” she says. “It’s another way for girls to have a role model, [by spending] eight hours with Elle Woods.”

The young star has just finished filming Elle Season 2, and fans are in for a treat. Not only will we get to spend more hours with Elle Woods, but all of the new characters have more screen time. “We do start up fairly quickly [from] where the first season ends, so there’s not a time jump or anything,” she teases. “I would say all the episodes are very similar to [The Breakfast Club one], where we get to do more group scenes and everything.”

There’s another mystery to be solved, and likely plenty more Elle Woods life lessons to be learned. What, like it’s hard?

This story was originally published on Refinery29 Australia.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Is Legally Blonde Prequel Elle Worth Watching?

Legally Blonde Prequel Elle Actually Looks Good

So Familia Celebrates ELLE With Free Styling