Nicole Kidman Slams Reporter's "Sexist" Question About Ex Tom Cruise

Film actor and producer Nicole Kidman is earning plaudits online for shutting down an "almost sexist" question by a reporter during an interview earlier this week. The 54-year-old, who was last seen in the 2021 biographical film Being the Ricardos, was speaking of relationships and love when she was faced with a question about ex-husband Tom Cruise.

Cruise and Kidman were married for 11 years, between 1990 and 2001, the year they divorced.

Speaking to The Guardian, Kidman was reflecting on how one can "make an extraordinary relationship thrive and leave remnants of it that exist forever" with reference to her film. "...sometimes you’re going to fall in love with someone who isn’t going to be the person you spend the rest of your life with," she added.

Being the Ricardos follows the real-life story of American actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and the relationship they shared through their 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy. The film has been directed by Aaron Sorkin.

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The interviewer followed the conversation about relationships up by asking if that was Kidman's "way of talking about Tom Cruise."

Kidman strongly refuted and said that was too long ago to be a part of the equation she was talking of, before proceeding to add, "And I would ask not to be pigeonholed that way, either. It feels to me almost sexist, because I’m not sure anyone would say that to a man. And at some point, you go, ‘Give me my life. In its own right.’"

The reporter mentions Kidman was "angry" in that moment.

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Kidman is counted among the most successful actors of this century and has consistently ranked as one of the top paid actors in the world. Her acting career began in 1983 in Australian cinema when she was a teen. Her films Dead Calm and Days of Thunder at the turn of 1990 shot her to stardom, following which she has headlined several successful titles over the years. Her series Big Little Lies, on which she is both an actor and producer, has shored in renewed acclaim for her worldwide.

She is a BAFTA, Emmy and Oscar awardee, the latter making her the first Australian actor to hold the honour.