After the slap given by Will Smith to Chris Rock in the middle of the Oscars ceremony on March 27 when the latter had made an unwelcome joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, the reactions of the stars present in the public made the rounds of the social networks. While most were wide-eyed, others seemed downright panicked like Meryl Streep. Ryan Gosling, meanwhile, sought to contain a laugh.
But the actress who amused Internet users the most, with a photo relayed dozens of times on Twitter, is Nicole Kidman. In the photo that everyone attributes to the moment of the slap on stage, we see him with a flabbergasted expression, as if pushing a shocked exclamation.
This photo was taken long before
This photo wasn’t actually taken when Will Smith took the stage after Chris Rock’s prank. As reported by Huffington Post (in English), it dates from before the beginning of the ceremony. A Reuters news agency photographer snapped another at the same time, in which the actress appears to be waving at someone. The site specifies that it was taken before the ceremony began.
Another indication that seems to confirm the fact that the cliché, which has already become a meme, was not a reaction to Will Smith’s gesture: several photos show that Nicole Kidman was wearing her husband Keith Urban’s jacket on her shoulders at that time of the evening, while she has her bare shoulders on the meme.
Used to becoming a meme
Nicole Kidman is now used to becoming a meme during her Oscar appearances. Already in 2017, a video of her applauding in an amazing way had been widely taken.
As a reminder, Will Smith went on stage in the middle of the ceremony to slap Chris Rock after he made a mocking reference to the film. On equal terms, comparing Jada Pinkett-Smith’s short hair to Demi Moore’s in the film. But the joke was taken badly, because Will Smith’s wife has alopecia, a disease that causes hair loss.