Nicole Kidman appeared to scold Salma Hayek before refusing to pose for a photo with the actress, sparking furious speculation that the pair are embroiled in a bitter feud.
But despite the furor over Kidman’s alleged cold shoulder, the actress was reportedly enraged by the braying photographers.
The actresses were said to be swapping advice after posing for pictures alongside Katy Perry at the Balenciaga show during Paris Fashion Week, when Kidman, 57, tired of the calls for more and walked away.
‘There is no issue,’ an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively. ‘This is a snippet of a video that doesn’t represent reality. There is a photo of them posing together. Nothing happened.
‘They were talking about something concerning advice and having a pow-wow – while being bombarded and yelled at and surrounded from all angles by cameras. They just wanted to go.
‘They are friends and are fine despite what anyone thinks.’
They added: ‘Nicole is not rude. At all. She may be awkward at times, but she is not rude.’
Kidman and Hayek, 58, whose fashion mogul husband François-Henri Pinault owns Balenciaga, appeared to clash when they were asked to pose together with Perry, 39.
Perfect Couple actress Kidman, wearing oversized black sunglasses, appeared to swat Hayek’s hand as she motioned her for a picture before walking away.
Footage of the incident, which took place two weeks ago, started circulating on Sunday night, with fans inundating Kidman’s Instagram account with taunts and questions over her alleged behavior.
Forensic lip-reading expert Jeremy Freeman has analyzed the apparent clash, claiming Hayek was telling Kidman and Perry to ‘look, look’ at the photographers.
‘Let’s turn there, OK here,’ Hayek said to which Kidman replied: ‘Hey, I’m fine, I’m good.’
After kissing Perry on the cheek she added: ‘There, it’s enough, it’s OK.’
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.
It comes after body language expert Judi James claimed the awkward altercation stemmed from an ‘etiquette issue.’
‘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,’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘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”.’
She added: ‘Keeping your dignity and maintaining impeccable elegance while being jostled and made to wait for what can often be hours are necessary skills, and Nicole Kidman offers what looks like a masterclass here 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 wasn’t looking at the camera.
‘Finally last night the grand finale of my Paris Fashion Week 2025… Balenciaga and Demna for a terrific show,’ Hayek wrote.
She also tagged Kidman, Perry and Lindsay Lohan.
One fan posted: ‘Nicole was so rude to you, why take pictures 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: ‘To expose Nicole when she’s going through such a sad time..’
The event marked Kidman’s first public engagement since her mother Janelle died. The actress and her sister Antonia shared a heart-wrenching tribute on Instagram and posted several never-before-seen photos of the late matriarch.
The insider added: ‘Nicole is dealing with the loss of her mother which is very hard. The last thing she needs is people creating something that just isn’t there. They are friends and at the end of the day, there is no story.’
