Nicole Kidman Makes Shocking Confession About ‘Raw and Dangerous’ Love Scenes Weeks After Revealing She Got ‘So Turned On’ While Filming New Movie
Five-time Oscar-nominated actress Nicole Kidman is standing her ground amid fierce criticism for her latest film “Babygirl,” an erotic thriller that pushes the boundaries of on-screen sexuality for actresses of her generation.
The 57-year-old actress portrays a powerful corporate executive engaged in a passionate affair with a younger intern, a role she describes as a bold statement about women’s sexual agency and visibility.
Bold or not, many fans are disgusted by Kidman’s choice to take the role, wondering if she’s using her sexuality to remain “relevant” in this current era.
In a candid interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kidman talked passionately about the
Halina Reijn-directed project and why she chose to take the role as Romy.
“A lot of times women are discarded at a certain period of their career as a sexual being,” she explained. “So, it was really beautiful to be seen in this way.”
The film features Kidman alongside fellow actors Harris Dickinson, 28, as her young lover and Antonio Banderas, 64, as her husband, in what promises to be a provocative exploration of midlife desire (or crisis).
Dickinson plays the younger intern at the firm where Kidman’s character is the company CEO. After they start their relationship, he threatens her, saying he will report her if she does not continue, claiming he has “power” over her.
The two-time Emmy winner said that when she read the script, she was sold.
“But when I read it, I was like, ‘I’ve not read a film like this.’ I thought it was incredibly sexy,” she said in the interview. “Really just so raw and dangerous, and I couldn’t believe they were giving us the money to make it.”
When asked what felt “dangerous,” Kidman added, “The sexuality of it. That it wasn’t written for a 20-year-old. It wasn’t written even for a 30-year-old.”
The movie’s explicit content has not been well-received by the public. Fans on the Daily Mail’s platform weighed in with a series of scathing critiques that question both the 57-year-old’s artistic choices and her judgment as a mother.
“I don’t get it,” one critic wrote. “She doesn’t need the work or the money. Trying to stay relevant I suppose but yeah I can imagine her kids don’t care to see their mother having an orgasm.”
“Why is she so desperate for attention?” someone else wrote about the mother of three.
Another said, “All the convoluted language she uses to describe these scenes which are basically p o r n…”
Critics were particularly harsh about Kidman’s age and appearance.
A Daily Mail reader bluntly stated, “Your time has passed, Nic. About 2 facelifts ago!! To act, one needs to be able to express emotions facially. She can’t.”
The most pointed criticism centered on her two teenage daughters, Sunday, 16, and Faith, 14.
“I can’t understand with 2 teenage daughters, why in the world she would go down this path,” one fan wrote. “How embarrassing for them! She always seemed rather conservative and reserved. That served her better I believe.”
Undeterred by or unaware of the backlash, Kidman remains committed to the film’s plot, asserting that it is sending a valuable message to the world about sexuality.
“My character has reached a stage where she’s got all this power, but she’s not sure who she is, what she wants, what she desires, even though she seems to have it all. And I think that’s really relatable,” she said.
Good girl 🥛 Watch the sizzling new trailer for Halina Reijn’s BABYGIRL starring Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, and Antonio Banderas. This Christmas. pic.twitter.com/l57leQzilY
— A24 (@A24) October 1, 2024
Kidman has been pumping the movie hard, even sharing in an interview with The Sun that she got turned on BDSM sex scenes during the filming. She said the experience was so tantalizing, “I don’t care if I am never touched again in my life.”
One fan said after her latest spotlight, “Tired of hearing about this. Why does this woman need validation from other people so badly?”
But Kidman is not alone in this. Other actresses, like Gabrielle Union, are taking roles where they play the winter lover invested in a springtime tryst.
In 2024, Union starred in a film with a similar premise of intergenerational relationships, titled “The Perfect Find.” The difference between her character is that she did not yield the power of being the chief executive over an intern.
Fans also gave some leave way because in real life, the actress is married to former NBA player Dwyane Wade, who is 10 years her junior. They noted that she used her experiences to relate to the character — and noting she probably played a character much younger because of how amazing she looks.
Kidman sees her new project as a fresh take on the subject as she remains unapologetic, continuing to challenge perceptions about age, sexuality, and artistic expression in Hollywood.
Compared to classic erotic thrillers like “9½ Weeks” and “Basic Instinct,” “Babygirl” promises to be a smoking-hot movie to some. The film will be released on Christmas Day.
