ABC/Image Group LABack in January, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman got into a scuffle at the Sydney Opera House, where they went to see a performance of “The Merry Widow.”
At the time, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that police were called to the scene after an argument between two men broke out, one of whom was none other than Keith.
It seemed that Keith and Nicole had given a standing ovation to the performance, unaware that doing so goes against opera tradition. A miffed audience member behind them then reached out and hit Nicole with his program, angering both members of the superstar couple.
Now, during an appearance on “The Kyle and Jackie O Show” for a radio interview in his home country of Australia, Keith addressed the incident.
“We didn’t know you’re not supposed to stand in the opera,” confessed the country star (quote via TODAY,) going on to say the show they were watching moved him, and a few other viewers, to a standing ovation.
“And I stood up, and then this guy behind me just, like, whacked — not me, Nic. Just, like, really hit her with a program,” Keith recounted.
“Violence at the opera ensued,” the singer joked. “It was a bit of a pickle that I was in, because you know, you’re a husband, you want to defend your wife, but I’m like, ‘What the hell?’ It took a lot of restraint.”
Fortunately, the two men didn’t ultimately come to blows, but Keith and Nicole’s security team swiftly escorted the family out of the audience. Despite the drama, the pair posed for a picture with the show’s star, Virgilio Marino, according to a post on Marino’s social media.
By Carena Liptak
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