Nicole Kidman has set the record straight on a 23-year-old rumour. As anyone who has even spent a fraction of time on the internet would know, the actress is haunted by a series of images taken in 2001 in which she looks overjoyed while reportedly leaving her attorney’s office after finalising her divorce from Tom Cruise. Skipping down a driveway with her arms wide and face alive with jubilation, the photos have become a meme template after one Twitter user resurfaced the pictures in 2018 alongside an inspirational caption to live every day with this exact energy.
Now, two decades later, the Big Little Liars star is finally breaking her silence on what prompted those shots. According to Kidman, the images weren’t taken after she concluded the legal proceedings of her separation, but were actually captured on set.
“That was not me; that was from a film,” the 57-year-old told British GQ about the viral moment. “That wasn’t real life,” she added. Kidman might’ve debunked netizen’s favourite online lore, but she might also be playing coy, given that her subsequent filmography didn’t include any scenes of that variety.
Kidman also took the time to clarify the context around a few other widely-circulated photos.
Her ‘seal clapping’ at the 2017 Oscars? Her fingers only appeared warped because she wore a “massive heavy borrowed ring on and it was excruciating, and I was scared of wrecking the jewellery.”
Her supposed reaction to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars? Merely her surprise and delight to see Jessica Chastain in her beautiful custom Alessandro Michele for Gucci gown.
Though the Australian actress sadly has exposed this as a myth, she hasn’t shied away from delivering more iconic images for our consumption. This is especially true for her performance in the upcoming erotic thriller Babygirl.
Directed by Halina Reijn and produced by A24, the steamy drama is a feast for the eyes with everything from Kidman skulling a glass of milk at a New York bar to certified internet boyfriend, Harris Dickinson, telling her she’s a “good girl”, as observed and documented by Evan Ross Katz.
But as Kidmant told us herself, she isn’t one to shy away from doing the unthinkable or memeable. “I’ll do anything for cinema, so you can meme me as much as you want.”