Nicole, Keith, and Maggie

The Nicole Kidman/Keith Urban divorce continues to be the top gossip story of the week. Nicole has broken cover and was papped on a hike with her sister Antonia in Nashville. The Daily Mail has those photos but don’t bother clicking because it’s just as described – they’re hiking, they look how anyone would look hiking. 

In my post about the situation yesterday my focus was on the timeline. And how those I’ve spoken to said that it was Keith who forced Nicole’s hand this week as he’d been pushing to make their split public since they’d already sorted out the money and the parenting agreement last month. It was Nicole who wanted to get through back to school with their kids first and also, another sign that all the developments this week may have been instigated on his end is Sunday Rose’s appearance on the Dior runway yesterday. It’s a big deal for her and instead the accompanying headlines around her big modelling gig – on Jonathan Anderson’s first womenswear runway no less – are about her parents’ divorce. 

This, then, would track with all the reporting we’ve been hearing about Nicole being reluctant for this to get out there and also fighting to save the marriage and Keith being the one who wanted out… even if it meant letting the world know about it during such an important week for their daughter. Another read, though, would be that Keith wasn’t aware that Sunday was walking in the Dior show. Which would suggest that he’s not only estranged from his wife but also, possibly, his children – a detail that’s been hinted at since, by all accounts so far, Nicole’s been the one spending time with them, living in the same residence, and getting over 80% of the custody. 

Like I said yesterday in my post, all of it adds up to a sh-tty look for Keith. And it’s getting even worse. Because focus is now on Maggie Baugh, a member of his band who posted that video of him changing the lyrics to his song “The Fighter” the other day. TMZ has now dug up another video, from back in April, with Keith seemingly singing the song to Maggie during a performance and this is especially sus because the song was written for Nicole. 

As a result, Maggie, as you would expect, is being trolled on socials. The comment section is a mess. People are saying horrible sh-t to her. She’s a young musician, she’s at the start of her career – and now she’s been introduced to a huge audience, not because of her music but because the audience thinks Keith left Nicole for her. I don’t love the cruelty that’s on display on her page. And yet, Maggie doesn’t seem to be avoiding it. Yesterday she actually posted a new reel to promote her new track that she thinks could be the song of the summer…? And she’s lip synching in front of a movie poster for Coffy, a blaxploitation movie starring the iconic Pam Grier released in 1973…

WHAT THE….?!

Maggie is 25 and if she’s obviously online if she’s posting on f-cking Instagram so presumably she’s aware of the controversy. I’m much older than Maggie, and most people my age, if we had nothing to do with a celebrity marriage falling apart, would make a point of asking to be excluded from this narrative. Maggie, though, is out here all like, listen to my song and make it the song of the summer (even though summer is over).

Maybe it’s a generational thing. Her cohort was fed on the idea that scandal sells and she seems to be using this opportunity to sell herself to those who would have never otherwise discovered her. I know I wouldn’t have. But does that help her advance her music career, which I assume is the objective? Seems like a huge gamble, not sure it’ll pay off. 

Let us know what you think at The Squawk. (App link here)