The Nicole Kidman Dress Branded A Fashion Flop By Joan Rivers Has Aged Like Fine Wine

Nicole Kidman's 1997 Oscars dress is widely remembered in fashion circles as one of her most iconic red carpet looks ever, but at least one celebrity wasn't a fan. Although forever immortalized as the dress that made Kidman a style icon, the late Joan Rivers famously trashed it during the live broadcast, making for one of the most controversial and scathing fashion critiques in red carpet history. Rivers hosted E!'s live coverage of the 69th Annual Academy Awards, wherein Kidman joined her then-husband, Tom Cruise, who was nominated for best actor but was arguably eclipsed by his wife (they divorced six years later). She wore a custom Dior dress designed by John Galliano in the shade chartreuse, featuring a classic boatneck with floral embroidery and a daring slit up the sides.

"If we can get a shot, is Nicole Kidman in the ugliest green you've ever seen, with Tom Cruise?" Rivers said of Kidman's dress (via YouTube). "Nicole! Come tell me why you wore such an ugly color!" the comedienne exclaimed as the actor and Cruise walked by. In fact, she despised it so much that Rivers jokingly made retching noises on the red carpet as she lambasted Kidman. "I hate that color!" she then yelled at the star (via The Hollywood Reporter). "You are making me puke!"

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But Rivers' comments didn't age well. Kidman's Oscar look would actually become so iconic that People and W Magazine later hailed it as one of the most memorable Oscar dresses of all time in the years that followed. It certainly wasn't the last time Kidman caused a stir with her fashion choices. "John made it for me, and I love it," she told THR's senior writer, Merle Ginsberg, that night on the red carpet. "I don't know if people will get it. But if they don't, well, maybe they should."

In 2002, five years after Joan Rivers tore into Nicole Kidman at the 1997 Oscars, the outspoken fashion critic and the style icon ran into each other again at the 74th Annual Academy Awards, which Rivers hosted. Kidman, who was nominated for best actress for her work in "Moulin Rouge!" that year, turned heads in a custom blush-toned gown courtesy of Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. She didn't seem particularly upset at the sight of Rivers, with whom she spoke on the red carpet. "Here's another person with a dream. How are you tonight?" Rivers asked Kidman. "Good. How are you?" the actor answered (via YouTube). After exchanging pleasantries and a few words, Rivers proceeded to congratulate the star and wished her well on her nomination. Notably, Rivers didn't say anything about her dress.

Although she never addressed the controversy surrounding Kidman's Oscar look, the E! News host alluded to the infamous incident in a 2009 interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune. Asked whether she missed hosting the red carpet with her daughter, Rivers admitted, "Not at all. It changed. Melissa and I were the first to do it. We turned going into a building into an event." She went on, "Now, God forbid you say Nicole Kidman doesn't look gorgeous. Her publicist then won't let you have Tom Hanks." She echoed the same sentiment in her chat with Howard Stern in 2011, saying celebrities have become too soft to handle such criticism. "You said something about Nicole Kidman two years ago, so [they're] not going to give you George Clooney," Rivers lamented. She certainly didn't sound remorseful in the slightest. "People are so scared. That's why we don't do the red carpet anymore," the late fashion host added.