Nicole: Marriage to Tom saved me from sex pests
MOVIE superstar Nicole Kidman yesterday told how her marriage to Tom Cruise gave her “protection” from sexual harassment.
The Australian actress tied the knot with the Hollywood star in 1990 after they had starred together in Days Of Thunder, one of her early roles.
In an essay for New York Magazine the 51-yearold said: “I got married very young, but it definitely wasn’t power for me – it was protection. I married for love but being married to an extremely powerful man kept me from being sexually harassed.”
Hollywood has recently been engulfed by claims of mass sexual harassment. Several high-profile actresses have revealed they have been attacked, giving rise to the #MeToo social media movement.
Ms Kidman added: “Of course I’ve had #MeToo moments – since I was little.
“But do I want to expose them in an article? No. Do they come out in my work? Absolutely.”
Ms Kidman and Cruise, who adopted two children, Isabella, now 25, and Connor, now 23, divorced in 2001.
Cocooned
The actress said their separation forced her to “grow up”. She said: “I would work, but I was still very much cocooned. So when I came out of it at 32 it’s almost like I had to grow up.”
Oscar winner Ms Kidman, star of films including Moulin Rouge and the award-winning TV show Big Little Lies, married country music singer Keith Urban in 2006. They have two daughters, Sunday, 10, and Faith, seven.
She is the second A-list female celebrity to speak out about the #MeToo movement in the past week.
Gwyneth Paltrow said she was hopeful the #MeToo movement would mean her daughter’s generation will not have to face sexual harassment.
The actress and lifestyle guru, 46, previously alleged that film producer Harvey Weinstein placed his hands on her at a hotel when she was 22.
She said: “I think it is incredible to see how much the culture is shifting and how there really seems to have been this groundswell.
“Women are saying ‘this is my experience and this cannot be the experience of women going forward and certainly not for the next generation’.
“I feel proud to have been part of it and I think it’s going in a very good direction.”