There's something infinitely relatable about Rami Malek. Over the course of his amazing journey to becoming an actor, we've learned so much about him. This includes the fact that he has a secret twin, as do some other noteworthy stars. But behind all of the nuanced roles, his Academy Award win, and all of the other success he's experienced is the energy of a down-to-earth man. Someone we can see ourselves in. Or, at the very least, someone we'd like to emulate.
...Even in terribly awkward moments like his now-famous award-show encounter with Big Little Lies and The Hours star Nicole Kidman.
But both Rami and Nicole have slightly different perspectives about what happened than what we saw take place...
What Exactly Happened?
The awkward moment happened at The Golden Globe Awards after Rami won Best-Actor for his portrayal of legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. At the Globes, the movie won Best Film, as well. This meant that Rami had to return to the stage to accept the award with the cast and crew. When he did, the cast and crew were already mingling and thanking the presenter... Nicole Kidman.
When Rami went up to say 'hello' to Nicole, she turned her head away from him. He then tried again, but she then had her back to him.
Rami even put his hand on her back to remind her of his presence... but Nicole carried on to interact with other people on the stage. The press deemed this moment a 'snub"... but that's not exactly what happened, according to both Rami and Nicole.
During a January 2019 interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Rami was asked about this moment. In fact, Jimmy played the outrageously uncomfortable video for him twice. Since Rami had never seen it, he got to experience it with the audience... and he was visibly uncomfortable.
Regardless, it was a moment that many of us can relate to. We all fear these minor awkward interactions. Sometimes they even keep us up at night after they've occurred. We spend countless hours over-thinking and analyzing the moment... even though these things sometimes happen.
Rami And Nicole Have Both Weighed In On This Moment... And Their Reactions May Surprise You
It wasn't a snub! Truly... It may have looked like it, but both stars claim that it wasn't. So, we don't think this was one of those Leonardo DiCaprio/Lady Gaga award show moments.
Even though Nicole Kidman sometimes gives off the vibe that she's somewhat removed or even holier-than-thou, and there have been some stories about her from people who have been employed by her, she's actually a very good friend of Rami's. And, by-the-way, Nicole's reputation in Hollywood isn't negative. In fact, it's quite positive, according to The List. This is a nice thing since so many people with her level of talent often get a bad rap for attitude issues.
Still, people can have their off days... But that's not what happened here...
During his interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Rami Malek said: "I've known her for many years, despite as it may seem from that video. So, I thought I could easily go up and say 'hi!'. But in a moment like that..."
"It turned out not to be the case," Jimmy laughed.
"Very awkward. I have a feeling like this will be haunting me."
"Yeah, this is going to be around for a little while."
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Nicole claimed that she was "mortified" when she heard about what happened as she simply didn't see him nor feel his hand on her back. Between all of the clapping, numerous bodies on stage, the blaring lights, and the thrill of the moment, mistakes like that can be made.
"I love that man. He's so gentle and softly spoken."
Nicole Kidman also added that the two are quite good friends so a purposeful snub at that moment would have been really out-of-place.
After the whole moment went viral, the two sent each other emails and cleared the whole thing up.
“He sent me an e-mail. I sent him an e-mail,” Kidman said, according to Vanity Fair. “We were laughing, actually. We were both in a bit of a daze.”
While the moment appeared to be a great big snub to Rami, at least from the perspective of the audience, it's clear that we made more of it than we should of. It looked awkward and maybe even a little mean on Nicole's part, but it was a simple misunderstanding.
Still, it's brutally awkward to watch and for that reason, it's a stellar piece of entertainment.