Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Cuts 50% of Employees After Actress Buys Back Company

Earlier this month, Witherspoon bought her production company back from Candle Media, the Blackstone-backed label that had acquired a controlling stake in 2021. With the support of the French conglomerate Mediawan, the actress was reportedly able to reacquire the banner for just a fraction of the $900 million that Candle Media had paid for it. Now, after just a few weeks in the driver’s seat, Witherspoon has let go some 30 employees — roughly 50% of Hello Sunshine’s staff.

Variety learned the layoff news from multiple sources, who noted that Hello Sunshine will now focus primarily on film and television projects and the Reese’s Book Club brand, with the direct-to-consumer division being gutted. Reps for Hello Sunshine declined a request for comment.

Though Witherspoon and Mediawan’s control of Hello Sunshine is new, the company is no stranger to layoffs. Under Candle Media’s leadership, it saw at least four rounds of staff reduction in the last two years alone, impacting the unscripted department and the Gen Z-oriented lifestyle brand Sunnie in particular. Candle Media also shuttered Hello Sunshine’s kids and animation unit in 2023. In 2024, it consolidated its live-action division, including that of Hello Sunshine, into Candle Studios, which was led by Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden until she stepped down a year later.

When Witherspoon re-acquired Hello Sunshine, she wrote in a statement that “the best is still ahead.”

“Mediawan has built a global, independent studio by putting creators first. That has always been my vision for Hello Sunshine,” her statement said. “I’m investing alongside Mediawan and joining Pierre-Antoine Capton and his teams because this is the perfect home for this new media landscape. It’s also a homecoming. Peter Chernin and Jesse Jacobs believed in Hello Sunshine from day one. I’m deeply proud of what our incredible team has built, and grateful to Blackstone and Candle Media for their partnership and unwavering support.”