Nicole Kidman And Keith Urban Got Into It With Another Audience Member At The Sydney Opera House Last Month
Picture it: Australia, January 2021. Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, and her 80-year-old mother Janelle Kidman are attending a performance of the operetta The Merry Widow at the Sydney Opera House. The sopranos, contraltos, and castratos opera-sing their little Aussie hearts out, pleased as punch Satine and her flat-iron-side-banged piece are watching. At the end of the show, the audience, including Nicole and Keith, leap to their feet to give the production a standing ovation. Um, big mistake. HUGE. For whatever reason, this move ~scandalized~ the man behind them, and he asked them to sit back down. Keith refused, and then the guy SWATTED Nicole with his program. Excuse me?! I guess he’s just not a fan of Nicole’s seal clapping.
Here’s what happened, via the Sydney Morning Herald:
Spies in the audience that night told PS that this particular opera lover took umbrage at the fact the Kidman-Urbans were on their feet and had some words with them. Keith explained they were giving a standing ovation, a sign of appreciation for the show, and carried on clapping and standing.
At this point, allegedly, the gentleman swatted Academy award-winning Kidman with his program, prompting Urban to accuse the man of assaulting his wife. Quick as a flash, Urban summoned his burly security to escort the couple and Kidman’s mum out of the audience, while Opera House security were sent in to retrieve the aggrieved opera lover.
Then somebody called the police on the swatting man. In a statement the New South Wales cops said:
“Police have been told a 53-year-old man and a 67-year-old man were both attending the entertainment centre when an argument broke out. Officers spoke to both men and no further action was taken.”
Keith is the 53-year-old (shocking, I know, that haircut makes him look seventeen), and I guess the angry man was the 67-year-old. After the drama was over, the couple was escorted to the stage door where they posed for a picture with the show’s star, Virgilio Marino:
Nicole also posted about the opera in her stories:
The Sydney Morning Herald points out that back in the day, standing ovations at the opera were considered rude because they blocked people from seeing the performers bow. But times they have changed, and they’re encouraged. I guess this doesn’t sit well with the grumpy man, but guess what, bitch? Swatting Nicole Kidman is a far more déclassé move.
An eyewitness said Nicole was “visibly upset” after the swatting, and I don’t blame her. I hate public confrontations. One time a man yelled at me before a 2011 showing of a movie because I wouldn’t give him my aisle seat (one I had come early to snag because of my wee bladder). Apparently, he needed the aisle to rest his luggage. Yes, he brought two large suitcases to the movies. When I refused he screamed, “You’re a filthy, disgusting girl!” You guys, even thinking about this face-off from ten years ago fills me with fury. But don’t worry, I got my revenge by intermittently blowing air into his ear for the next one hour and thirty-four minutes. I’m lucky movies don’t have programs, otherwise, I’d have been on the receiving end of a swat.