Inside Salma Hayek’s 19-year close friendship with Nicole Kidman’s ex-husband Tom Cruise as actresses make headlines for clashing on the red carpet

Salma Hayek and Nicole Kidman have gone viral after the two A-listers appeared to clash at the Balenciaga show during Paris Fashion Week last month.

Kidman, 57, and Hayek, 58, were standing in front of photographers with singer Katy Perry when an apparent altercation occurred, apparently because Hayek touched the Australian star when they were asked to pose together.

Interestingly, Kidman’s ex-husband Tom Cruise shares a longstanding friendship with the Mexican-born star that spans nearly two decades.

Cruise and Kidman were married for 11 years before announcing their shocking divorce in 2001.

Hayek and Cruise, 62, have known each other since they first worked together on the 2005 film Ask the Dust.

Although they have never starred together on screen, the actor produced the 2006 film in which Hayek appeared alongside Colin Farrell, the late Donald Sutherland and Idina Menzel.

The pair have kept in touch ever since and regularly attend lavish events and dinners together.

In February 2015, Cruise enjoyed a meal at Scott’s in London with his then-girlfriend Penélope Cruz and Hayek.

Cruise left the popular Mayfair venue and was pictured with a lipstick mark on his right cheek.

Since both Cruz and Hayek were wearing deep red lipstick, it was unclear which of the two actresses left their mark on Tom’s face.

In July 2022, the two friends were spotted posing for photos outside a London restaurant after dining with Hayek’s husband François-Henri Pinault, whom she has been married to since 2009.

More recently, Hayek wished Cruise a happy 62nd birthday in July.

The actress paid tribute to the star as he celebrated the milestone.

She captioned an image of them on her Instagram Stories, showing the pair looking glamorous at Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday party in April, writing: “Happy birthday dear @tomcruise (three party popper blowing emojis.)”

Hayek added the same message in Spanish, writing: “Feliz cumpleańos querido @tomcruise (three party popper blowing emojis.)”

Images of the Fashion Week incident between Kidman and Hayek appeared online on Sunday and caused a stir on social media.

But despite the fuss over Kidman’s alleged cold shoulder, the actress was reportedly furious with the braying photographers.

The two women were reportedly exchanging advice after being photographed with Perry at the Balenciaga show during Paris Fashion Week, when Kidman grew tired of the calls for more and walked away.

“There is no problem,” an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively. ‘This is an excerpt from a video that does not reflect reality. There is a photo of them posing together. Nothing happened.

“They were talking about something about advice and having a pow-wow – while being bombarded and shouted at and surrounded by cameras on all sides. They just wanted to go.

“They’re friends and things are going well despite what anyone thinks.”

They added: “Nicole is not rude. Not at all. She can be clumsy sometimes, but she’s not rude.”

Kidman and Hayek, whose husband Pinault owns Balenciaga, appeared to clash when they were asked to pose with Perry, 39.

Perfect Couple actress Kidman, who wore oversized black sunglasses, appeared to slap Hayek on the hand as she gestured her for a photo before walking away.

Footage of the incident, which took place two weeks ago, began circulating on Sunday evening, with fans flooding Kidman’s Instagram account with taunts and questions about her alleged behaviour.

Forensic lip-reading expert Jeremy Freeman has analyzed the apparent clash, claiming Hayek told Kidman and Perry to “look, look” at the photographers.

“Let’s go over there, okay here,” Hayek said, to which Kidman replied, “Hey, I’m good, I’m good.”

After kissing Perry on the cheek, she added, “That’s enough, it’s okay.”

Hayek then put her arm on Perry as she told Kidman “that’s fine, that’s fine,” before telling the Roar singer to “look, look” at the photographers.

Meanwhile, body language expert Judi James shared her thoughts on what really happened between the actresses, calling it a “Devil Wears Prada lesson in status signals.”

Judi shut down talk that there might be a history between the actresses and believed the awkward altercation stemmed from an “etiquette issue.”

“We can see that Salma is apparently trying to send Nicole away with an arm and a hand that, while they may not touch, could be seen or felt as directive and a bit superior,” she told the Ny Breaking.

“Nicole appears to push the hand away, suggesting that the simulated touch has violated some kind of silent etiquette, as in a possible ‘I choose when I go or where I move to.’

She added: ‘Maintaining your dignity and maintaining impeccable elegance while being jostled and waited for what can often be hours are necessary skills, and Nicole Kidman here offers what seems like a masterclass in protecting A-list parameters and status signals against all odds .’

Hours after the event, Hayek uploaded a carousel of images from the night, including one of Kidman, who was not looking at the camera.

“Finally the grand finale of my Paris Fashion Week 2025 last night… Balenciaga and Demna for an amazing show,” Hayek wrote.

She also tagged Kidman, who was announced as a Balenciaga ambassador last December, Perry and Lindsay Lohan.

One fan wrote: ‘Nicole was so rude to you, why would you take a picture with her?’

Another wrote: ‘Nicole was mean to you but you still posted a picture with her. You have kindness in your heart!’

But some appeared to defend Kidman in the wake of her mother’s death, with one commenting: “Exposing Nicole when she’s going through such a sad time…”

The event marked Kidman’s first public involvement since her mother Janelle died. The actress and her sister Antonia shared a heartbreaking tribute on Instagram, posting several never-before-seen photos of the late matriarch.

The insider added, “Nicole is dealing with the loss of her mother, which is very difficult. The last thing she needs is for people to create something that just isn’t there. They are friends and at the end of the day there is no story.”