Nicole Kidman debunks rumor this famous photo was taken after her divorce
Nicole Kidman is setting the record straight.
During a Nov. 18 interview with GQ, Kidman gave the real story behind a series of photos from the early 2000s that have since become a meme. In the photos, she seems to yell in the street while wearing a pink top and green pants.
As internet legend had it, the photos were taken after Kidman left a lawyer’s office while divorcing Tom Cruise. Kidman and Cruise divorced in 2001.
However, speaking to GQ, Kidman debunks the story behind the meme.
“That’s not true,” she told GQ, before going on to explain the real origin story of the photo: “That was not me; that was from a film, that wasn’t real life. I know that image!”
TODAY.com has reached out to Kidman for comment about which film the photos are from.
Still, the photo has taken on a life of its own, thanks to its — according to Kidman, untrue — backstory. It’s become a meme used to describe uplifting and remarkable moments, and is generally part of Kidman lore.
One person shared the meme on X in 2018 and said, “Live every day like you’re 2001 nicole kidman leaving her lawyer’s office after divorcing tom cruise.”
Another tweet said, “Honestly i just want to be as happy as nicole kidman was after she divorced tom cruise and got rid of a man.”
The photo has been used to describe peak happiness. “Just know that you will never be as happy as Nicole Kidman leaving her lawyer’s office after divorcing Tom Cruise,” another tweet reads.
In her interview with GQ, Kidman also clarified some of her other viral moments as well, like the GIF of her clapping with just the palms of her hands at the 2017 Academy Awards.
“I’ve also seen the one where I’m clapping like that,” she said.
Kidman explained that she clapped in that way because she was wearing a “massive heavy borrowed ring” that was “really painful” and she was “scared of wrecking the jewellery.”
“Ha! There’s always something behind the actual images that go out there, right?” she said.
