Nicole Kidman Asks Permission to Take Roles?

Can we get a WOMP WOMP? Uber-successful, critically-acclaimed, Oscar-winning, all-around amazing actress Nicole Kidman just opened up about her views on gender relations and marriage while promoting her latest flick, Grace of Monaco, in which she portrays another movie legend, Grace Kelly. During a press conference at Cannes Film Festival, Nicole Kidman proclaimed she "wouldn't think twice" about giving up her career if hubby/country singer Keith Urban asked her to. In fact, she gave a series of choice quotes reinforcing her positively Stepford view of marriage. Eye. Roll. While we have to respect Kidman's personal priorities (if family comes first, that's obviously more than okay), taken in its full context, her quote is more than a little disappointing. When asked if Urban approved of her decision to play Grace Kelly in the film (which is a strange question to begin with, considering Kelly's legacy as one of the greatest actresses in American cinema history), Kidman replied, "If he said no, I wouldn't have done it."Prioritizing family or even a romantic relationship is one thing, but deferring totally to your husband on the issue of your wildly successful career? That seems a little extreme.

Before you jump in with a defense about the way celebrity quotes don't always capture the meaning of the speaker, let's take a look at Kidman's follow-up, which confirms that, yes, Kidman really did mean she believes in giving her husband final say purely based on his position as Keeper of the Penis in their relationship.

"That's how we are," she added. "I know this sounds old-fashioned, but I do put it on the table because if it won't work for us, then I'm not doing it."

Yes. It does sound old-fashioned, Nicole. It's disappointing at best to hear this kind of regressive view of gender politics from one of the most respected, highly paid and in demand actresses of our time. Meanwhile, Keith Urban has taken up residence as the would-be Blake Shelton of American Idol as a judge on the decaying reality competition's umpteenth season.

So if Urban asked her to choose life as a homemaker over a new project, Kidman says she knows exactly what she would do. "Yeah, if he asked me. No question. I would absolutely. I wouldn't even think twice about it."

It's hard to say what's more disappointing, Kidman's answers or the fact that she was asked the questions in the first place. Why is it presume relevant to ask a successful woman about her stance on balancing work and family? And why wasn't the follow-up question if Urban would happily quit his stint on American Idol or cancel his next album or tour to do the same, if it was best for the family. One hopes, of course, that he would and that their relationship is built on equality and that Kidman's statements only highlight one side of the story. One certainly hopes. But that phrase, "old-fashioned," calls back to a time when that hope was much less likely to be true. But let's hope. Let's hope that if anyone ever needs to sacrifice their career and passion stay home with their two daughters together, Sunday Rose, 5, and Faith Margaret, 3, that Kidman will take off her Stepford pearls and have a real conversation about it.