Why Nicole Kidman's reaction to Will Smith altercation isn't as it seems

Nicole Kidman's reaction to Will Smith taking to the Oscars 2022 stage and slapping Chris Rock has become the ultimate viral meme of the evening. However, in the wake of the evening's events, it transpires that the reaction in question wasn't what it seemed.

The morning after the night before, with the whole world wondering what happened at the Oscars last night, the biggest headline grabber was that unforgettable physical altercation.

Although Will Smith tearfully apologized in his Oscars acceptance speech, the shocking moment is sure to go down in history as one of the Oscars most controversial moments. All you need to do is look at the gobsmacked audience, including actor Nicole, whose expression captured the OMG moment only too well.

However, the image of the Aussie actor wasn't actually taken after the altercation, but far earlier in the evening, before the show had even began. Around the time of the incident, Nicole was wearing her husband Keith Urban's jacket.

The unforgettable performance of Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball in director Aaron Sorkin's 2021 drama, Being the Ricardos gained the star a nomination for best actress. Despite not winning the gong, this image of the star (albeit inaccurate) has ensured that she's won the award for the most meme-able moment.

Fans reacted to the image with one Twitter user saying, "Nicole Kidman reacting to Will Smith punching Chris Rock is more Lucy than Being the Ricardos." Another commented, "Nicole Kidman was all of us."

Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time she's been the queen of memes on Oscars night, as one fan pointed out. "It isn't the #Oscars until we have a truly insane Nicole Kidman reaction image," they said.

In case you've forgotten, an image of her slightly unusual style of clapping went viral back in the 2017 Oscars.

In light of the highly charged altercation, which brought a deeply uncomfortable energy to the evening's proceedings, it's understandable that fans are focussing more on funny memes than the incident itself.