This photo does not show Nicole Kidman’s reaction to Will Smith’s onstage altercation with Chris Rock at the Oscars - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 30, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it as the picture of Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman’s shocking reaction to Will Smith’s onstage altercation with Chris Rock at the Oscar Award ceremony. On 28 March 2022, during the 94 Academy Awards ceremony, Hollywood actor Will Smith slapped comedian and Oscar Award ceremony presenter Chris Rock onstage for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance at the Oscars ceremony. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo showing Nicole Kidman’s reaction to Will Smith and Chris Rock incident at Oscars.
Fact: The photo shared in the post was taken and published on Getty Images hours before Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscar Awards ceremony.  This photo shows Nicole Kidman’s animated reaction after seeing actress Jessica Chastain during the un-televised first hour of the ceremony reserved for craft awards. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check whether Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman really made such a shocking reaction after Will smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, we could not see Nicole Kidman’s reaction in any of the videos that captured uncensored moments of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscar Awards Ceremony. On reverse image search, the same photo was found published on the Getty Images website on 27 March 2022. The description of the photo states, “Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban during the show at the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday”. The image was credited to the ‘Los Angeles Times’ photographer Myung Chun.
The ‘Vulture’ news website contacted Myung Chun for more clarification regarding this Nicole Kidman’s reaction to Will Smith’s onstage confrontation with Chris Rock. Speaking to the ‘Vulture’, Myung Chun said, “Yes, the picture of Nicole Kidman was taken during the non-televised portion. It appeared that she was excited to see Jessica Chastain across the room. Kidman then reached out her arms and waved to her with both hands”. The ‘Vulture’ confirmed that the photo was taken hours before Will Smith and Chris Rock’s onstage altercation, during the un-televised first hour of the Oscar Awards ceremony.
Reporting the same, several news websites published articles. They can be seen here, here, and here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the photo shared in the post shows Nicole Kidman’s exciting reaction to Jessica Chastain during the un-televised first hour of the ceremony reserved for craft awards.
To sum it up, this photo does not show Nicole Kidman’s reaction to Will Smith’s onstage altercation with Chris Rock at the Oscars.