![At the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures 2nd Annual Gala, Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber's body lang...](https://imgix.bustle.com/uploads/image/2022/10/17/dd87c7eb-b8ba-4f7a-b62d-06ea9634714a-image003.jpg?w=414&h=306&fit=crop&crop=focalpoint&q=50&dpr=2&fp-x=0.456&fp-y=0.4453)
Can We Talk About Selena & Hailey’s Body Language In *Those* Photos?
A body language expert weighs in.
After posing for photos together at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Gala, Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber essentially broke the internet. The duo met up on Oct. 15, only a few weeks after Hailey addressed their reported feud on the Call Her Daddy podcast. During the event, they took a few photos together, and Selena and Hailey’s body language is intriguing, to say the least.
To backtrack a bit, on the Sept. 28 podcast, Hailey opened up about the timeline of her and Justin Bieber getting married (which was only a few months after he and Selena broke up for the final time). During the interview, she made it clear that there was no bad blood and no overlap, no matter what Jelena stans want to believe. “I just respect her. There's no drama, personally,” Hailey explained. Though Selena didn’t comment on the interview directly, she did encourage her fans to use “kind words” in a livestream the next day — a clear reference to the bullying Hailey discussed on the interview.
And based on these pics, it seems like Selena and Hailey have fully moved on from the drama. According to Patti Wood, body language expert and author of SNAP: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma, Selena and Hailey are sending a clear message with these photos. “They’re playfully posing. They’re both in on it, and they’re having fun with it,” she explains. Selena and Hailey on the same page? This is the twist I never knew I needed.
In one photo, Selena and Hailey are sitting together closely in the “intimate zone of space.” But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re comfortable there. “Selena is encroaching on Hailey’s space,” Wood says. “She’s assertive.”
Hailey, on the other hand, looks a little less comfortable. “Hailey has more tension in her body. She’s leaning away. Her shoulders are up and her arm is out straight in a blocking gesture,” Wood explains.
Per Wood, things seem a little more natural in this photo — especially for Hailey. “She’s leaning her head over, and she’s much more comfortable.” Selena looks content, too. “Selena is in this bliss with her chin up and her eyes shut,” Wood says.
Plus, see how their arms are wrapped around each other? According to Wood, “That’s showing closeness.” Overall, Wood guesses, “They’re having a moment here. They’re having a good time together.”
Well, if I was putting to rest years of drama, I’d probably be having a good time, too.