Why Teyana Taylor told Julia Roberts 'don't come an inch closer' when they first met on Golden Globes red carpet

Teyana Taylor is dishing about her newfound friendship with screen legend Julia Roberts.

In the lead-up to the 98th Academy Awards, the Oscar-nominated One Battle After Another star has been winning big, snagging countless precursor trophies and racking up plaudits. But what is a statuette compared to sharing a hug with a lifelong hero?

Hours before accepting yet another win — her Virtuosos Award at this week's Santa Barbara International Film Festival — Taylor opened up about meeting Roberts on the 2026 Golden Globes red carpet and revealed why her immediate reaction was to... back away.

"Everybody knows that I love Julia Roberts. I'm obsessed with her," Taylor told PEOPLE before the festival. "They brought her over, and I looked, and I started backing up, and my eyes was watering, and she was coming closer."

Overwhelmed at coming face-to-face with Roberts, Taylor said her first instinct was to say to her, "Don't come an inch closer."

"And she was coming closer," the actress continued, "and then I just dived into her arms and it was just so amazing."

She added that they became "instant besties."

Photographs of the pair at the gala show them embracing on the red carpet like old friends. Taylor also pointed out that later in the night, when she won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, they shared another sweet moment.

"She was standing up when I won and I just dived into her arms again, and it was just so amazing," the actress gushed. "So yeah, she's my bestie in my head, even if she don't know it."

Roberts isn't the only new addition to Taylor's growing lineup of pals. She also keeps crossing paths with Frankenstein stars Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac.

"Those are my boys," she told PEOPLE. "I feel like every single time we run into each other at an event, we just always cutting up. And I love it. But I've made so many friends."

Still, who could top Roberts? Taylor has been effusive about the Pretty Woman star for weeks, having also unpacked their sweet Golden Globes moments during her January appearance on The Tonight Show. That conversation saw Taylor addressing a viral video of the pair meeting in which Roberts embraces her while also joking about her "teeny tiny" waist. At one point, Roberts quips that Taylor needs to "eat a sandwich."

The comment caused some social media users to criticize Roberts as "insensitive," but Taylor has assured everyone that it was all in good fun.

"I've seen people trying to get on her about that," Taylor told host Jimmy Fallon. "I was like, 'Hold on.' She told me I needed a sandwich because she couldn't find my waist… It was so cute."