Angelina Jolie Reflects on Her Meme-Making 2012 Oscars Dress: 'I Was Just So Comfortable'

Angelina Jolie has one of the most famous right legs in Hollywood, thanks to a thigh-high slit and a power pose at the 84th Annual Academy Awards in 2012.

But the actress, 44, played coy about the now iconic Oscars fashion moment, speaking to Extra at the premiere of her new film Maleficent: Mistress of Evil on Monday.

“There’s a whole longer story behind that,” she told the outlet of her black Atelier Versace gown. “I had a more complicated dress and I wore the more comfortable dress, which was that one, and I think I was just so comfortable that…”

Adding, “I think when you feel comfortable, when you feel yourself — which is very much the theme of the film, and we know this in life — you embrace it. And sometimes, maybe it appears to be a thing, I don’t know.”

Jolie first turned heads on the red carpet, and again when she took the Oscars stage to present the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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With a hand on her hip and her bare leg stretched out through the slit in her dress, the Mr. and Mrs. Smith actress (who was married to Brad Pitt at the time) made quite a statement.

And the Best Adapted Screenplay winners seemed to agree. Accepting for The Descendants, Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash emulated Jolie’s paparazzi-worthy moment (and Jolie herself tucked her leg back in).

By the end of the award show, the show-stopping moment had gone viral before going viral was cool — a Twitter handle called @AngiesRightLeg gained over 14,000 followers in one day, boasting anonymously pinned posts like, “Look at meeee!!” and “You have to admit I’m one hell of a leg.”

For Monday night’s premiere, Jolie chose a second stunning black Versace dress yet again. But this time, the custom-made asymmetrical gown featured sequin embellishments and a scorpion broach pinned on at the hip.

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“I hope the film speaks for itself,” the mom of six told PEOPLE on the red carpet. “I think there are many different types of strength represented for women in this film. It’s not just the strength of a fighter, it’s the strength of a tactician in Michelle and a leader, it’s the strength of a mother-to-be and wife in someone like Elle, who is soft, and her strength is in her heart and her softness.”

“She doesn’t need to take up arms to prove she’s soft,” Jolie added. “All of these things are different aspects of women. We’re very complicated. They’re also many strong, wonderful men in this film who we love, who support us and who we learn from. And that is also very important.”