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It’s rare to see two superstars fight in public, but that appears to be what happened when Nicole Kidman and Salma Hayek crossed paths at Paris Fashion Week last month.
The actresses were at the Balenciaga RTW (Ready-To-Wear) spring fashion show on Sept. 30 when their tense exchange was caught on camera.
Video of the awkward incident has emerged showing paparazzi trying to get photos of Kidman, Hayek and Katy Perry.
A clip shows the two women standing next to each other when Hayek tries to turn Kidman, who had her back turned, into position for a photograph.
The Frida star gently pushed Kidman to the face the cameras, but Kidman grabbed Hayek’s wrist and wrenched it away as she turned back to Perry, as a photographer can be heard asking for “one more” photo.
Hayek may have been trying to get perfect publicity photos for her husband, François-Henri Pinault, the CEO of Balenciaga’s parent company, Kering, who was on the other side of his wife.
Kidman, meanwhile, has been an ambassador for Balenciaga since last December 2023.
While it is unclear if the Perfect Couple actress was displeased with Hayek’s nudge or the photographers, a body language expert explained to the Daily Mail why Kidman didn’t seem happy by the unnecessary touching.
“Nicole seems to be posing happily with her friend Salma, placing a polite arm round her shoulders while keeping their torsos apart,” Judi James told the outlet.
“The problem might possibly first arise when Nicole then turns (with her hair covering her face from the cameras) to have a more personal-looking friendly chat to Salma, who is still working the pose,” she continued.
“In another clip, we can see Salma apparently trying to steer Nicole around and away from her using an arm and a hand that could, although possibly not touching, be seen or felt as directive and a little superior,” James explained.
“Nicole appears to push the hand away, suggesting the mimed touch breached some kind of silent etiquette, as in a possible ‘I’ll choose when I go or where I move to.’”
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The show was the first time Kidman had been seen in public since the death of her mother in early September.
The Oscar winner announced the death of her mom, Janelle Anne Kidman, just hours before being named best actress at the Venice Film Festival for her role in Babygirl.
Kidman skipped the event to fly home to her family in Australia.
The Big Little Lies star took to Instagram to share photos of her beloved mother, and thanked everyone for “the outpouring of love and kindness” she and her family received.