Theron Breaks the Law, Rushdie Hurls Daggers

SMOKIN' Charlize and her butt in 2004 (Photo: Getty Images) The talk of the Soho Grand penthouse in Manhattan on Tuesday night was the palpable tension between writer Salman Rushdie and ex-wife Padma Lakshmi as the two spent a large portion of the evening mere feet from each other at the Cinema Society after party for Sleepwalking.

While Salman squired a mystery, fedora-clad Padmaganger around the Dior Beauty bash, the Top Chef host held court on the couch, engrossed in a conversation with Jericho star Skeet Ulrich. The duo switched seats twice with random patrons who had accidentally sat in between them, and continued chatting and laughing. Lakshmi surely caught Rushdie's dagger-like stare burning into her from across the room—she was sure to casually graze Skeet's arm often.