You’ve seen the meme, I’ve seen the meme, we’ve all seen the goddamn meme. You know, the one of Nicole Kidman screaming in her chair? The one that everyone thinks was her massive reaction to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock? Well turns out the pic was actually taken hours earlier.
Before we endeavour into who exactly Nicole Kidman was yelling at, let us look at the meme one last time before it’s ruined for us.
Nicole Kidman reacting to Will Smith punching Chris Rock is more Lucy than Being the Ricardos. pic.twitter.com/BdFomkE7BZ
— Melissa Murray (@ProfMMurray on Spoutible 🐳 ) (@ProfMMurray) March 28, 2022
Wow she sure is getting startled by that slap, isn’t she?
“The Slap” was so powerful it made Nicole Kidman’s face move for the first time in 11 years #Oscars2022 #Oscars #WillAndChris #WillSmith #ChrisRock pic.twitter.com/tR16bzkITt
— Terry Hague (@TezzaBelle88) March 28, 2022
Hoo boy, I sure hope that this meme isn’t actually Nicole Kidman reacting to seeing a friend in the industry or something.
That sure would suck, wouldn’t it friends?
WHY ISN’T THIS ON TV pic.twitter.com/Pc963qDu09
— Matt Jacobs (@majacobs) March 27, 2022
Alright, no more being disillusioned by the internet and meme discourse. Nicole Kidman wasn’t reacting to the slap at all.
The pic was taken at the pre-Oscars ceremony where untelevised awards like Best Sound Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling are filmed.
Pretty much nobody attends this part of the night, but Kidman chose to with her hubby Keith Urban.
Vulture journalist Rebecca Alter decided to call up the photographer of the Nicole pic Myung Chun to get to the bottom of this mystery. What is Nicole reacting to?
Jessica Chastain. Yes, sorry to burst your bubble. To be fair though I too would react like that if I saw Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain in the flesh.
Miss Chastain was also at the untelevised segment of the awards to support her The Eyes of Tammy Faye team who were nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Hey, they won, so it was good that she was there to support them.
This is a picture of Nicole Kidman reacting to seeing Jessica Chastain. The Internet decided it was the symbol of us seeing the slap. Her power pic.twitter.com/F0fc68T83V
— Lizzy (@thedirtbird) March 29, 2022
Jessica and Nicole were both nominated for Best Actress this year. The award went to Jessica, but from the sounds of it all the nominees love each other. We love to see it.
the category is women kneeling down to nicole kidman #oscars pic.twitter.com/zezwffpulN
— 🎞️ (@NlCOLEKIDWOMAN) March 28, 2022
Now that Vulture has cleared the air of mystery around this pic, new memes have rolled in about the origins of the pic being wrong. Oh, how memes evolve.
This actually isn’t a picture of Nicole Kidman reacting to the slap. It is a picture of Nicole Kidman reacting to how many beautiful women there are in the world ❤️ pic.twitter.com/NpEdaFigbk
— nicole boyce (@nicolewboyce) March 29, 2022
AP Correction: Nicole Kidman’s reaction in this photo was not a response to Will Smith but due to Kristen Stewart wearing a Chanel tuxedo with shorts. pic.twitter.com/vqUGonIKrn
— Chuck “Parody” Groundhog (@only_si_chuck) March 29, 2022
This next one is a joke by the way. I stared at it for way too long thinking it was real.
Everyone’s taking that photo of nicole kidman jumping out of her seat at the Oscars out of context but we really should be talking about how she gave the slap two big thumbs up??? pic.twitter.com/Axuhdrcebz
— Marina Watanabe (@marinashutup) March 28, 2022
Now that this is all settled, let’s go and support these queens by watching Being the Ricardos on Amazon Prime or The Eyes of Tammy Faye on Disney+.
