NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Debate rages over Nicole Kidman's racy Vanity Fair cover photoshoot

news.com.au
17 Feb, 2022 11:28 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Fans slammed the styling and "really bad Photoshop". Photo / Supplied

Fans slammed the styling and "really bad Photoshop". Photo / Supplied

Nicole Kidman has stripped off for a revealing new magazine cover, the 54-year-old Oscar-winner showing off her rock-hard abs for Vanity Fair's 2022 Hollywood Issue.

But the results have proved divisive online, with some calling out Vanity Fair for what they allege is excessive Photoshopping of the stunning star.

Kidman, who is this year nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Lucille Ball in Being The Ricardos, told Vanity Fair that all these years into her career, she doesn't think of herself as a movie star.

"I'm a little oddball. I'm in a state of just being willing to go with the flow," she said.

"I'm just still in that place of going, 'I'm not quite sure what defines a movie star … I still approach acting like I've just come out of drama school."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But it's the shoot accompanying the interview that's garnering the most attention today, with debate raging over that striking cover shot of Kidman dressed in a denim bikini top and miniskirt.

Many have called out what they claim is "really bad Photoshop" by Vanity Fair – not just of Kidman, but of other stars including Penelope Cruz featured in the issue:

I’m no expert but is this really bad photoshop? It looks like they drew the left oblique line in the wrong place & her left knee is facing one way while her foot is facing to the side. Nicole Kidman is beautiful and doesn’t need any of this done to her images. I just…. https://t.co/KPujPASUZ7

— Jessica Y. Flores (@jessicayflores) February 17, 2022

"No 54-year-old's body looks like that, not even Nicole Kidman's. Why are we we still doing this s**t?" read one popular Twitter response to the cover. "She is a beautiful woman and can do whatever she wants with her body. It's a criticism of the magazine's stylistic choices and insane air brushing."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"This literally looks like they took her head and …'Shopped it onto a completely different body," said another.

Why Vanity Fair decided to ruin Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz with all this photoshop?
Why the need ? 😫 pic.twitter.com/875CMluTHR

— Flav⎊ (@Darveyinbed) February 17, 2022

Others questioned the styling of the shoot, one asking why the star had been styled like a "teenager in Euphoria".

"I'm less concerned with whether her body is "real" or not, or healthy or not, or how photoshopped she is or isn't than wondering why she's styled like an early 90's teen pop star," wrote another.

Kidman is nominated for the fifth time at this year's Oscars, which will take place in LA on Monday, March 28 and will air locally on Seven. The Hawaii-born actress has been based in Australia in recent months, primarily to take care of her 81-year-old mother "and have her surrounded by her grandchildren", she revealed in a recent interview.

Discover more

Entertainment

It's a love story: Taylor Swift engaged - report

17 Feb 10:40 PM
Entertainment

'Nothing to do with me': Jake Gyllenhaal breaks silence on Taylor Swift breakup song

17 Feb 08:24 PM
Lifestyle

Model reveals how traumatic procedure affected her son

17 Feb 10:34 PM
Lifestyle

US supermodel shares support of Otago school girl who had hijab ripped off

17 Feb 10:30 PM

What part of Nicole Kidman’s already incredible body shall we over photoshop this year to convey our respect for her as an actress? pic.twitter.com/rbnIUqMv3H

— Chris Spargo (@chrisonchris) February 17, 2022

"I'm at the place where I'm being given the chance to view the world, because of how close we are, my mum is giving me the chance to view the world through an 81-year-old woman's eyes," Kidman explained later in the interview.

"She's giving me access, because she's also very direct and very honest, and so I'm getting access to the world through her eyes, my mother's eyes, so therefore a part of me almost at 80."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

Matchmaking film's NYSE promotion sparks debate among industry insiders

18 Jun 05:00 PM
Entertainment

Tom Cruise, Dolly Parton to be awarded honorary Oscars

18 Jun 07:26 AM
Entertainment

Watch: Behind the scenes at this year's Smokefreerockquest and Showquest

18 Jun 06:00 AM

Sponsored: Embrace the senses

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Matchmaking film's NYSE promotion sparks debate among industry insiders

Matchmaking film's NYSE promotion sparks debate among industry insiders

18 Jun 05:00 PM

Film distributor A24 used this to promote Celine Song's 'Materialists'.

Tom Cruise, Dolly Parton to be awarded honorary Oscars

Tom Cruise, Dolly Parton to be awarded honorary Oscars

18 Jun 07:26 AM
Watch: Behind the scenes at this year's Smokefreerockquest and Showquest

Watch: Behind the scenes at this year's Smokefreerockquest and Showquest

18 Jun 06:00 AM
Smokefreerockquest Regional Finals - Wellington

Smokefreerockquest Regional Finals - Wellington

Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP