Reese Witherspoon on domestic violence, Chris Brown and Rihanna

Reese Witherspoon at the Gaylord Hotel on Tuesday. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Reese Witherspoon came to the Beltway Tuesday to talk about domestic violence which meant fielding our questions about Chris Brown.

Yet another debate about showbiz hypocrisy erupted when Brown who pleaded guilty to assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna three years ago got a plum gig and warm welcome on this months Grammy broadcast (and later mocked his haters on Twitter). Confusing the issue further: The former couples seeming reconciliation he lends a vocal to her remix of Birthday Cake.

Her take? Witherspoon chose her words carefully.

Every case is different, the movie star told us. Theres obviously room for growth and change in lots of peoples lives. I dont know either one of them, so I cant really comment about their lives. But it was one of those experiences that actually created a great opportunity to talk to your kids about domestic violence issues.

As a longtime advocate for womens and childrens causes, Witherspoon said shes helped several girlfriends go through similar situations. Its very personal to me. Theres just a real need for people to speak out.

The actress, 35, teamed up with Avon five years ago and, between acting gigs, has helped raise $40 million for prevention programs. She showed up Tuesday in a stylish-but-sober black dress and very high heels for the 2nd World Conference of Womens Shelters at the Gaylord hotel at Marylands National Harbor, where 1,500 women from 96 countries are discussing how to decrease violence against women around the globe through education programs, social media and even aps that turn smart phones into alarms.

Chris Brown and Rihanna on stage together in 2008. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters ) People need to understand this is happening in one in three households in America, she said. We have to end the cycle, because were teaching children to be victims and abusers.

Witherspoon said her own kids Ava, 12, and Deacon, 8 know about Brown and Rihannas history, which led to a dinner-table discussion about whats appropriate behavior and whats not, what they could do in the same situation, and how they can be advocates for their friends. I think its very powerful for children to know they can make a change in their community and schools, she said.