Caroline Thayer
She may not be a pop star, but Natalie Portman is singing Rihanna’s praises.
Making an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” the Academy Award-winning actress spoke directly about her divorce from ex-husband Benjamin Millepied for the first time, sharing that a brief exchange with the “Umbrella” singer and makeup mogul had been “formative.”
Portman and Rihanna crossed paths in January for the first time, meeting outside the Dior Haute Couture show during Paris Fashion Week. Video of the women interacting went viral online; the two lauding one another with compliments.
Natalie Portman and Rihanna met outside Paris Fashion Week in January. They both attended the Dior Haute Couture show. (Getty Images)
“It was an amazing experience for me,” Portman told Fallon of meeting Rihanna. “I think every woman going through a divorce should get to have Rihanna say to her that she’s a ‘bad b—-.’”
Portman, 43, filed for divorce from Millepied, a dancer and choreographer whom she met on the set of her 2010 film “Black Swan” in July 2023, although it wasn’t finalized until March 2024, according to People magazine. Rumors of infidelity plagued the couple prior to their split.
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Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied met on the set of the 2010 film “Black Swan.” Together for 11 years, the former couple share two children. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)
A French magazine reported in February 2023 that Millepied had had an affair.
“It was exactly what I needed,” Portman said of the Rihanna interaction, before Fallon rolled the tape of the two meeting.
Reports claimed that Benjamin Millepied was unfaithful. (Getty Images)
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“I love you,” Portman can be heard stating emphatically to the “Stay” singer as they embrace.
“I am a f—ing fan,” Rihanna fired back.
“Are you kidding me?” Portman said.
“You are one of the hottest b—-es in Hollywood. Forever,” Rihanna professed.
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“I’m gonna faint,” Portman declared.
“You do the most innocent look, and I’m like ‘Ahh,’” Rihanna added. “I don’t get excited about anybody, but I f—ing love you.”
Natalie Portman called meeting Rihanna a “formative experience.” (Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
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“It was a formative moment in my life,” Portman told Fallon, after she watched the video back.
It was a sentiment she reiterated on the “Today Show with Hoda & Jenna.”
“It was really exactly what I needed at that moment in my life,” she told Hoda Kotb and Justin Sylvester. “And she served it to me. And I’m forever grateful. I love her… She is the hottest.”
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