Katie Holmes breaks silence and defends viral Jingle Ball outfit after backlash

Katie Holmes is standing by her controversial red carpet look that went viral for all the wrong reasons at last December's Jingle Ball.

The actor and fashion icon appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show this week to put an end to the discourse once and for all, insisting that she's still happy with how she looked on the night.

For the event, hosted by Capital One, Katie, 44, rocked up in a pair of distressed, wide-leg jeans, a short navy mini dress, and a pair of black trainers.

Overall, she looked as beautiful as ever, but people still had a lot to say about her unusual outfit choice.

Asking her about what she thought of the look now, Drew Barrymore noted: "I feel like a lot of people were debating it."

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Explaining the thought process behind her look, Katie replied: "I mean, I thought it - it's like a corset, so I threw it on with jeans.

"And I knew I wanted to dance there, because I was going with my nephews, so I threw my sneakers on.

"And I thought I looked cool, I felt cool! I felt great.

"And then I woke up the next morning and I was like, 'Oh my gosh!'

"I guess, I don't know, I didn't know that it was such a thing... I don't think about it. I like to go and have fun."

Katie also spoke about the hate she got for the look in her recent interview with Glamour.

"Come on, women, let's hold each other up here. Let's look a little bit past what we're wearing," she urged.

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"That's our duty amongst each other. I feel like the woman's journey is deeper."

The backlash to Katie's outfit was so intense that at the time, Katie's stylist Brie Welch wrote an email to the New York Times to defend it.

In it, she explained that Katie wanted to create a youthful look that she could dance in.

"On the day of (and because Katie has her own effortless style that should be appreciated here), she said she wanted to wear sneakers because it was a concert and obviously there would be a lot of dancing," Brie wrote.

She added that Katie, who has been just as known for her fashion wins as her faux pas, is 'more than capable of looking cool in an unintentional trend 20 years later.'

The Drew Barrymore Show/ ABC

Elsewhere in the interview, Katie got Drew in her feelings when she gushed to the actress-turned-host about what an inspiration she had been.

"You know I'm such a fan of yours. Everything you've done in your career has been an inspiration and it gives me confidence," said Katie, casting a look of shock over Drew's face.

"When you started producing it was like, 'Oh! We can do that?' So thank you, you just give so much."

And, in classic Drew Barrymore style, it wasn't long before the two were sitting side-by-side on the sofa, hugging it out - weird red carpet look forgotten.