--- title: Nicole Kidman Explains Her Weird Clapping at the Oscars description: The 'Lion' actress was lampooned for her odd clapping—but it turns out there's a perfectly understandable reason for her act of applause. canonical: https://time.com/4696797/nicole-kidman-oscars-2017-clapping/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-09T17:16:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:34.334Z og:title: Nicole Kidman Breaks Silence About Her Viral Oscars Clapping og:description: She had a perfectly normal reason for her unusual clapping. og:url: https://time.com/4696797/nicole-kidman-oscars-2017-clapping/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nicole Kidman Breaks Silence About Her Viral Oscars Clapping twitter:description: She had a perfectly normal reason for her unusual clapping. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Nicole Kidman Explains Her Weird Clapping at the Oscars At Last > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Nicole Kidman Reveals She Was Once Engaged to Lenny Kravitz [Watch (HLS stream): Nicole Kidman Reveals She Was Once Engaged to Lenny Kravitz](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/17nF1nMj.m3u8) (0:52)  _Published 2017-02-16. HBO’s new miniseries Big Little Lies is full of intricate relationships, but off-screen there’s a special connection between two of the costars_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 9, 2017 5:16 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 9, 2017 5:16 PM UTC Before the Oscars ended [with a surprise twist](http://time.com/4686598/warren-beatty-academy-president-cheryl-boone-issac/), the show gifted us a few funny memes. The biggest and best of these, perhaps, was _Lion_ actress [Nicole Kidman’s unusual clapping technique](http://time.com/4683389/oscars-2017-nicole-kidman-clap/?iid=sr-link1). Likened to the motions of a baby seal or the hand gestures of a Grinch or even Edward Scissorhands, Kidman’s open-palmed attempt at applause got viewers scratching their heads to understand why she couldn’t seem to clap like the rest of us. But in a new radio interview on KIIS FM, Kidman has luckily been able to clear all that up. As it turns out, it was [her jewelry](https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethdoerr/2017/02/27/nicole-kidman-lights-up-red-carpet-at-2017-oscars-with-vintage-omega-watch-and-harry-winston-jewels/#5091efdf10f1) that was at fault. She was wearing up to 119 carats worth of Harry Winston diamonds, [the _Evening Standard_ reports](http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/nicole-kidman-explains-bizarre-oscars-clapping-a3485116.html), including a nearly-14-carat pearl-shaped diamond ring set—not exactly something she’d want to endanger with enthusiastic hand movements. “I don’t want to not be clapping,” she said about her thought process, fearing people taking it the wrong way. “So therefore I’m clapping, but it was really difficult because I had this huge ring on, which was not my own but was absolutely gorgeous and I was terrified of damaging it.” She added: “It’s like, is there not more important things to be focused on than the ‘seal clap’?” Good point, Nicole, good point. At least the internet had fun with it. > [](https://twitter.com/rachel/status/836053766382227456) ## Transcript In the interview with The Edit, Nicole Kidman revealed that she was once engaged to her Big Little Lies costar Zoe Kravitz father, Lenny Kravitz. Kidman and Kravitz were linked in 2003 after Kidman split with her ex, Tom Cruise. She told The Edit quote, well, I knew Zoe because I was engaged to her father. It's all in the family. I love Lenny, he's a great guy. In 2007, Kidman told Vanity Fair that she was secretly engaged in 2007. But she didn't reveal who she was engaged to. She said at the moment quote, it just wasn't right. I wasn't ready. We weren't ready. Kravitz and Kidman have remained pals, however they hung out with Kidman's husband Keith Urban backstage at the 2016 CMT Music Awards exchanging hugs and posing for a group photo. 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