Pucker up: Is it weird to kiss your friends on the lips?

Is it weird to kiss your friends on the lips? That’s the question being asked after Meryl Streep and Cher puckered up for a peck on the lips at the premier of their new movie on Tuesday.

The pair were walking the red carpet at the Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again premier in London when they turned to each other and shared a kiss. The spicy moment sent social media users into a meltdown as they debated whether or not it was weird to kiss your friends on the mouth.

While a smooch on the cheek is perfectly common between friends, planting a wet one on the lips is another story. The debate has arisen in a number of forms over the years with people arguing over whether it’s okay to kiss family members on the mouth or if the intimate show of affection should be reserved for partners only.

Cultural factors also come into play, with some nations showering each other with kisses while other recoil at the sign of public displays of affection.

Meryl and Cher have been close friends for years, having famously starred together in the 1983 drama Silkwood, and are obviously comfortable expressing their affection for each other. However, not everyone shared their sentiments.

“I have a good friend of 50 years damn sure wouldn’t kiss her. Only a small hug,” one commenter wrote on Facebook.

Others though, especially those of the millennial generation, were much more enthusiastic and shared their joy with typical Gen Y dramatics. 

“Cher and Meryl Streep kissing at the Mamma Mia! premier is the most important thing to happen in my lifetime,” one wrote on social media.

Another added, “I live only for the Meryl Streep/Cher kiss”. While a third wrote, “Cher and Meryl Streep own my heart”.

Read more: Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard share a smooch

The same debate was stirred last year when Nicole Kidman kissed her Big Little Lies co-star Alexander Skarsgard on the lips at the 2017 Emmy Awards.

Skarsgard was on his way to the stage to accept his award for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Television Movie when he stopped to embrace Kidman, who played his wife on the show.

The pair kissed on the lips, while Kidman’s husband, Keith Urban, watched on behind her, and briefly held each other’s gaze before Skarsgard headed to the podium.

While their kiss sent viewers into a spiral, for Kidman and Skarsgard it seems the bond they formed while filming their difficult scenes in Big Little Lies made them comfortable enough to show off their affection for each other in public. 

What did you think of the kiss? Is it weird to kiss your friends on the list?