This year's Academy Awards ceremony was a weird one for many reasons, one of the main ones being Nicole Kidman's really bizarre clap. Thankfully, the actress has now given an explanation for her distinctive show of appreciation at the show, and it makes a lot of sense.

Nicole KidmanNicole Kidman reveals the truth behind her weird clap

The 'Lion' star essentially had to choose between two post-Oscars headlines; one being 'Nicole Kidman refuses to clap at Academy Awards', the other being 'Nicole Kidman claps like a seal'. Naturally, she went for the latter. No, it's not a weird habit that she has developed over the years, it was purely to protect the jewellery she was wearing.

She opened up about the incident, finally, to KISS FM's Kyle and Jackie O during an interview after the hosts confirmed her situation. 'It was really awkward! I was like, 'Gosh, I really want to clap'', she said. 'I don't want to not be clapping, which would be worse right? 'Why isn't Nicole clapping?' So therefore I'm clapping but it was really difficult because I had this huge ring on, which was not my own but was absolutely gorgeous and I was terrified of damaging it!'

More: Twitter freaks out over Nicole Kidman clapping

The jewel in question was a 119 carat Harry Winston diamond ring that she had borrowed for the night. Needless to say, she'll probably get to borrow a lot more stunning jewellery now that people know she's so good at drawing attention to it - as well as being so careful with it.

Possibly the most hilarious comparison made for the Kidman Clap was to the Dr. Seuss character the Grinch - in reference to Jim Carrey's play on the character in the 2000 film. Of course, it wasn't the strangest moment of the entire show - thankfully - because that prize still goes to the 'La La Land' vs. 'Moonlight' Best Picture debacle.