It’s a plan that’s working well for Penelope Cruz. Jeannette Walls reported, in yesterday’s Scoop:

Penelope Cruz claims she knows why those lesbian rumors refuse to die. The “Vanilla Sky” actress, who has long been the subject of speculation about her sexuality, says she helped keep them going.

Cruz has been friends with Salma Hayek since she came to the U.S. from Spain about seven years ago. There friendship started a buzz, which grew a lot louder when she groped her friend’s behind at a press conference while the two were promoting their film “Banditas.”

“I grabbed Salma’s ass just to keep things moving, because everyone was a little slow,” Cruz said while promoting her new film “Volver” reports Australia’s Courier Mail. “And, of course, the energy changed when I did that.”