Nicole Kidman defends her controversial Vanity Fair mini skirt cover

‘That was my choice. And yeah, I own it,’ the ‘Moulin Rouge’ star says

Nicole Kidman has once again spoken out about her viral Vanity Fair cover that sparked controversy in February 2022.

The 56-year-old actor wore a micro-mini skirt and matching bra top by Miu Miu in the magazine cover shoot. She completed her look with calf-high socks and pointed leather loafers.

At the time, Kidman’s magazine cover became the center of debates around ageism and beauty standards.

Some fans of the actor criticised Vanity Fair for allegedly using too much photoshop on her photo.

In a new interview with Australia’s Stellar magazine, Kidman opened up about the viral cover and why she chose to wear the controversial outfit.

“I make the most random, crazy choices,” the Northman star said. “I call them ‘teenage choices’ because I just don’t ever think of consequences.

“Part of my brain just doesn’t think like that. I just go, ‘Oh, I’m going to wear that; it reminds me of my school uniform.’ Or, ‘Oh my God, yeah, I’d love to do that,’

She added: “I try to [stay] in that place because I think otherwise you get scared or worried.”

(Vanity Fair)

Reflecting on the online criticism, Kidman said she avoids looking at it.

“Don’t tell me, I don’t really want to know – it will stop me doing what I want to do,” she said. “There are times when you hear things and you go, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s really hurtful’.

“Because you can’t be under a rock,” she said. “But at the same time, I really try to stay free in the choices because otherwise, before you know it, you’re just closed off and you can’t step anywhere.”

“I want for myself just to keep going, ‘Oh, well, I’m trying something or I wanted to do it. It was fun. That was my choice. And yeah, I own it. I’m accountable. Whatever. I take responsibility. Nobody else chose it,’” the Boy Erased actor acknowledged.

This isn’t the first time Kidman has spoken about the magazine cover.

In a 2022 interview with Australian director Baz Luhrmann, who worked with Kidman on the 2001 film Moulin Rouge, the Kidman revealed that her stylist on the shoot, Katie Grand, had prepared a different outfit for the cover.

“I showed up and they had another outfit for me and I was like, ‘No, no, I like this one! Am I allowed to wear that?’,” she said.

“And Katie Grand, who’s just fantastic, was on Zoom, and Katie was like, ‘You’re willing to wear that?!’ And I said, ‘Wear it?! I’m begging you to wear it!’”

Luhrmann, who sat down with Kidman over the phone for Australian Vogue, said that wearing the outfit on the magazine cover was a “personal achievement” of Kidman’s.