Blake Lively’s Friendship With Salma Hayek Takes Center Stage Following Taylor Swift Fallout

On May 13, Blake Lively, her sister Robyn and actress Salma Hayek were spotted outside the upscale RH Rooftop Restaurant in New York City. Photogs swarmed the trio — joined by Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynolds — as they headed for dinner, with Salma and Robyn locking arms, and Blake smiling and placing her arm on Salma’s shoulder.

The two have been friends since costarring in 2012’s Savages, but it was the first time they have been pictured publicly since 2018. Some are questioning the timing of their outing, which comes as Blake, 37, remains embroiled in her highly publicized legal battle with her It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni. (“Staged!” wrote one online commenter. “This is definitely a PR move,” sniped another.)

The night out came after Blake’s former bestie Taylor Swift was subpoenaed by Justin’s lawyers in early May, leading her to further distance herself from the A Simple Favor star. (On May 22, Justin’s lawyers withdrew their subpoena.) Salma, 58, appears to be conveniently filling that role. “Yes, Blake and Salma are friends, but a lot of the people around them believe the dinner was orchestrated,” a source tells Star. “Now that Taylor is avoiding Blake, she needs all the allies she can get.”

Strategic Allience

Blake is smart to align herself with Salma. The Eternals star has been married to businessman François-Henri Pinault for 16 years (they share daughter Valentina, 17). Worth around $39 billion, he owns CAA, the talent agency that reps countless A-listers, making him (and Salma) powerful figures in Hollywood. “Hanging out with Salma definitely gives Blake a huge advantage — just given how powerful she is because of François,” says the source, who adds, “no one is going to mess with Salma; she’s untouchable.”

In addition to Savages, Salma costarred alongside Ryan, 48, in 2017’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard and its 2021 sequel. It’s not just work. In 2017, she posted a photo of herself on Instagram holding Blake and Ryan’s daughter Inez and cooking dinner. That same year, she praised Blake during a speech at Variety’s Power of Women luncheon saying in part, “I still have never met anybody that at such an early stage in their life had such a sense of self, so much courage. I saw her take on one of the biggest bullies in this industry that everybody feared. She was like, ‘Bring it on, baby.’ She knows exactly what she wants.”

It’s clear she’s Team Blake. Unlike others who have kept mum, the star spoke warmly of her at the May 15 launch party for her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. At the event, she revealed that she recently spent time with Blake and Ryan’s kids, James, 10, Inez, 8, Betty, 5, and Olin, 2. “I got a chance to go play with them. They got to see their Tía Salma,” she told E! News. Says the source: “Salma has made sure to show where her loyalty lies. She’s in Blake’s corner regarding her legal fight with Justin.”

A New Dragon

Still, Blake is reeling from the breakdown of her decades-long friendship with Taylor. The “Karma” singer, 36, resents being dragged into Blake’s court case. (In legal docs, Justin claims he was ambushed by Taylor during a meeting at Blake and Ryan’s NYC home about the direction of It Ends With Us and alleges Blake called Taylor one of her “dragons,” referencing Game of Thrones.) Yet, after Taylor was subpoenaed, her rep put out a damning statement on May 9 saying the star had nothing to do with the film and “did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its release.” The source says Taylor “wants nothing more to do with Blake.”

With Taylor out of her corner, she’s grateful to Salma for not shunning her. “Blake looks up to Salma and admires the way she says what she means without fear. She and Ryan feel secure knowing Salma is going to bat for them both. People in Hollywood show Salma respect and they’ll hear about it if they don’t.”