During Q&A session at the Television Critics Association, Reese recalls the HBO series being dubbed 'chick show', while Nicole says her character's storyline was deemed worse than 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.
- Feb 11, 2019
AceShowbiz - Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman defended "Big Little Lies" after a critic dubbed it a "chick show".
The first season of the drama series – which also starred Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz and Shailene Woodley – debuted on HBO in 2017 to huge success, however not everyone was a fan of the dark drama.
During a Q&A session at the Television Critics Association in Pasadena, California, the cast was asked if they had ever received a review they felt was unfair or sexist, due to the male-dominated industry.
"There was one critic who probably didn't watch more than one episode and said it was a 'chick show' or something. And really tore the show apart. I remember Nic and I talked about it," said Oscar winner Reese, who is also an executive producer on "Big Little Lies".
Nicole then revealed that the review said her character Celeste's abusive relationship with husband Perry, played by Alexander Skarsgard, was "worse than" "Fifty Shades of Grey".
"I was like, please watch the whole show," she fired. "Which is what I always say! Which I know is a massive time commitment because there are only so many hours. But you make the show whole."
While the critic was not named by the actresses, TV Guide revealed that The New York Times writer Mike Hale panned the series two days before it aired back in 2017.
He slammed Nicole's domestic abuse storyline as "a subplot that's more disturbing but also strays into 'Fifty Shades' territory".
The star-studded cast of the show, which is based on Liane Moriarty's novel of the same name, won several awards after the first season premiered, with Nicole, Laura and Alexander landing Golden Globe and Emmy honours.
"Big Little Lies" will return to HBO for the second – and final – season in June (2019), with Hollywood icon Meryl Streep joining the cast.
