Keith Urban didn’t like ‘Babygirl’ & he didn’t want Nicole Kidman to promote it

When we’re talking about Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s messy divorce, please pay attention to which outlets are pushing certain narratives. One of the reasons why Kidman was able to walk away from Tom Cruise mostly unscathed is because she had the support of CAA (one of the most powerful agencies in Hollywood) and she had the support of certain media groups, including the Murdochs’ octopus-like media tentacles in Australia, the UK and America. Keith Urban is no Tom Cruise – meaning, Nicole really doesn’t have to work this divorce the same way. Most people are already on her side, and her team is doing what they need to do to keep her narrative out there in People Mag and TMZ. But! Sexism still exists, and people love to infantilize white dudes. That’s why rumors have already been thrown out there about another “reason” for Keith leaving Nicole: she works too much, she travels too much, her career emasculates poor Keith. Well, here’s an added bonus: Keith didn’t like that Nicole was taking sexy roles in movies like Babygirl. Interestingly, it’s a Murdoch-owned outlet putting this story out there.

Keith Urban was unsupportive of Nicole Kidman as she promoted her sexually explicit movie, “Babygirl” last year, multiple sources told Page Six. Kidman filed for divorce earlier this week, while Urban had already taken off his wedding ring when he performed on stage in Hersey, PA, Thursday night.

In 2024, the country crooner failed to join his wife at the Venice Film Festival as she debuted the film in August and again when it opened at the Toronto Film Festival that September.

In the movie, Kidman, 58, is a high-powered CEO who launches into an affair with her handsome intern, played by Harris Dickinson, 29, while dissatisfied with her sex life with her husband, played by Antonia Banderas, 65.

“Keith didn’t like the film and he didn’t even like Nicole promoting the movie,” said a Hollywood insider. Another source alleged that the 57-year-old Urban feared that he would be mocked because of the film’s subject.

Indeed, on July 1, the singer appeared to end an interview on Australia’s Mix 102.3 “Hayley & Max in the Morning” when he was quizzed about his wife’s starring roles with young men.

“What does Keith Urban think when he sees his beautiful wife with beautiful younger men like Zac Efron having these beautiful love scenes on TV and radio?” host Max Burford asked.”I think his team hung up on us because they didn’t want us to ask that question,” the producer added. “He’s gone, see you Keith.” His co-host Hayley Pearson said she believed they “upset” Urban because he “doesn’t like the personal stuff.”

A source, however, later told People that Urban didn’t leave the call.

[From Page Six]

What’s crazy is that Babygirl was a product of Nicole’s pledge to work with more female directors. Eight years ago, Kidman pledged to work with a woman director every 18 months. In those eight years, Nicole worked with 19 women directors. Babygirl was one of those 19 projects – Halina Reijn wrote and directed the film, and because Nicole signed on, Reijn was pretty much guaranteed financing (fun fact: Nicole was also the one to secure the rights for INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart”). My point is that Nicole was doing all of this for feminist reasons, to get women’s stories made and to give a lot of female directors their big breaks. Do I think she also enjoyed the Babygirl script? Sure. While I wasn’t wild about the movie, I respect the hell out of Nicole for doing that role and really going for it. Very few actresses would have gone there. It wasn’t all heaving bosoms, heavy-petting romance either, it wasn’t commercialized sexiness, it was dark and awkward and weird. And Nicole did it that way too, and she honestly did some great work in it.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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37 Responses to “Keith Urban didn’t like ‘Babygirl’ & he didn’t want Nicole Kidman to promote it”

  1. Alicky says:

    Well boo-effing-hoo for the little man-child.

  2. Merrie says:

    So he cheated because he worried his wife’s career would make him appear less than? Yeah, that makes sense.

    Guys need to get over themselves.

    • Hypocrisy says:

      Cheating husband blames his longtime wife for not getting his permission on a work project for his infidelity.. Keith Urban is the ugliest kind of cliche there is.

    • Megan says:

      Professionally jealousy is definitely an issue here. Nicole goes on world tours to promote her work that is seen by millions. Keith is playing a 10,000 seat hockey rink in central Pennsylvania.

  3. Helonearth says:

    Ah there now, poor wee Keith upset about Nic working when he is….(let me just check this)…on a long tour AGAIN.

    I think this article actually makes him look ridiculous, thinking that people will assume the film content is about him, which works in her favour.

    • TigerMcQueen says:

      The more that comes out about their divorce, the worse he looks. After all she put up with from him, and he’s getting his fee fees hurt because she has a career and made a movie he didn’t like because it’s script (which is pretend ffs) somehow made him look bad.

      I’d love it if Nicole made a movie about some old geezer musician (who happens to be married to a fantastic, successful woman) who hooks up with a girl barely old enough to be his daughter because he thinks it makes him look OMG HAWT but really it only makes him look sad and ridiculous.

    • Smart&Messy says:

      Yeah, if the story was intended to make Keith look more sypathetic, it failed badly.

  4. ArtHistorian says:

    What an insecure looser he is. Also his hair is really bad.

    I haven’t seen Babygirl yet but I loved Halina Reijn’s previous movie Bodies Bodies Bodies, it is a hilarious take on murder mystery in a secluded house.

    • Libra says:

      Others have commented that his hair appears to be a wig. Today I agree. No one can have hair that bad exactly the same way everyday.

  5. ariel says:

    I know this is a deeply sexist world and this narrative will garner sympathy from men and women, but i’m like, no, explain it to me again- his ego is fragile, and so that is….. her fault?
    Really. That is the cheating with a 25yo defense?

    Sure.

    Nicole probably did work less when their kids were young, she wanted to raise her kids and make her family work.

    Love that when the kids are old enough to not need full time mom- the kids are fine, its the man-baby of a husband/partner who can’t handle not being the highest thing on her priority list.

    Just. We deserve better men, overall.

    • jais says:

      Yeah, I’m just like who is this information helping? Bc it makes him look like a fragile baby. Is his team actually putting this out there to make him look justified for cheating? Say what.

      • Jay says:

        Yeah, it is a pretty bad look. I just want to tell him like, “Stay down, man – you are not going to win this one.”

        The irony of complaining that your wife starred in a sexy film that’s about her character having an affair with an employee about half her age… and then possibly going out and having an actual affair with an employee ( well, in his band) about half your age…

  6. Anin says:

    Wasn’t Keith at the time personally living the plot of the movie, sleeping with much younger coworker?

  7. Mango says:

    One thing about her divorce from Tom, Tom never cheated, badmouthed her, or interfered with her career (not to my memory, at least). Keith is already worse than Tom because he’s a cheater and tried to control her career choices.

    • Irene says:

      He did turn their children against her due to Scientology. That was probably more painful.

    • Susie Soehnchen says:

      I don’t know what happened between her and Keith but can’t stand comments making Tom Cruise look like a good guy during her divorce with him. He had her phones tapped, allowed the kids to be brainwashed against her by his cult, allowed the press to suggest she had cheated and the baby she lost wasn’t his, and surely hurt her in other ways. Tom Cruise is not a good person.

    • jais says:

      No he just was part of a cult that controlled how much her kids could see her as she was now a suppressive person or something like that. It’s prob hard to be nasty in the press when that’s happening bts. But point taken, Keith is gross.

    • Louisa says:

      Tom may not have cheated but he (and his cult) not only bad mouthed Nicole, he forced their kids to believe she was evil and they couldn’t have a relationship with her. His cult was also stalking her and bugging her phone and made her fear for her life at one point.
      Keith is a cliched middle aged idiot but Tom was much worse.

      • IFoxi says:

        Divorcing Tom was definitely more dangerous than this divorce will be because of the $cientology connection. She’d actually spent time at their secret base in Hemet, so they were going to keep an eye on her regardless of how Tom felt about it.

  8. bisynaptic says:

    “Antonia” Banderas?

    • bisynaptic says:

      Does Urban really want it out there, that he wanted and expected directorial control over his wife’s career? I mean, I know we’re going full-on patriarchy, nowadays, but… really? Et tu, Keith?

  9. otaku fairy says:

    Man wants to control the modesty of a woman’s image but turns out to be a cheater himself is a tale as old as time. We’re expected to look down on the woman when that happens but to me these stories always make the man look pathetic.

  10. Marie says:

    I agree with all of the above comments. I will say I was a bit surprised by the title because Keith had always for years publicly called Nicole Babygirl whenever he thanked her in front of an audience… so I did wonder about the title…..
    Again I agree it is not her fault and who knows what goes on in a marriage

  11. SarahCS says:

    My goodness she is better off without a guy this insecure and with such a fragile ego if even half of this is true. Find a guy who knows your worth or be happy in your own company, it s better than being with someone who can’t handle your success.

  12. DouchesOfCambridge says:

    Baby was cringe to him. And she did it and promoted it anyway even if he thought it was too weird and people might judge him for her choices. Boohoo.

    I hope Nicole does more and more weird movies of her own choices and promotes them to oblivion and tags him every time.

    She said once that she decided to do the movie “bewitched” with will ferrel because the catering was great. I love her lol do what you really want!!!!

  13. Shoegirl77 says:

    So what we’re saying is that short man syndrome is a massive factor? Nicole deserves a nice tall man whenever she decides to get back on the scene. *no offence intended to any short guys who are secure in themselves here*

  14. Gigi says:

    Loved Babygirl. I think it’s Nicole’s best film role.

  15. NikkiK says:

    I’m finding this hard to believe, lol. But either way Babygirl was an awful movie and not at all sexy. I’m not sure what message the filmmakers were trying to get across but it definitely wasn’t a message about female empowerment. Kidman’s character was totally played by the intern. He was clearly in control and had the upper hand from the jump. He was also obviously unstable and unwell.

    • Peanut Butter says:

      I have tremendous respect for Nicole. As far as Keith goes, I don’t care if men wear makeup, but his always looks a bit too tan and like it’s applied too heavily. And I will never, ever understand his hair preferences. I wish both of them and their girls the best, and I look forward to Nicole’s future projects.

  16. Jayme says:

    He thought her being paid to pretend to cheat on her pretend husband with a pretend younger man was humiliating to him, her real husband, so he did that to her in real life by cheating on her with a 25 year old?

  17. FYI says:

    Kidman’s team is working overtime. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but as far as PR, she has Urban completely out-maneuvered. Like, he doesn’t stand a chance. The divorce has been in play for months — but he likely surprised her by moving out. I have no doubt that he has cheated for a while — don’t get me wrong — but she will have her vengeance in the press with as many stories as she wants.
    The latest is the resurfaced warning from Urban’s long-term girlfriend back in 2000-ish. She said then that he was a drunken addict who cheated all the time and who “has a dark side.”

    • Aurora says:

      I don’t think he has a chance, PR wise and I’d say for a better, renewed life. He’s letting himself out with every step, as an envious little old man with unresolved issues whose wife overtowers him in every area.

  18. Jay says:

    I think what is surprising here is that we have become used to the kind of celebrity divorces where things quietly get worked out behind the scenes and then get announced with identical posts
    in a Friday news dump “with respect and love” and “respect our privacy at this time.” This ain’t that! She is burying him, old school.

    My read is that Nicole’s side was trying to coordinate this and he just blew it up – midweek, right before their daughter walked her first fashion show and just as Nicole announced she had wrapped Practical Magic 2. I don’t know if he was intentionally stepping on those things or if he’s out of the loop completely, but is nobody advising this man?

  19. Smart&Messy says:

    It’s most probably a wig, because I can’t believe he woud have someone over every morning to fix it like that. Plus after every nap or gym time. No way. The one in the first photo above needs to be conditioned because the ends look horrible.

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