The Cannes red carpet security guard who was filmed clashing with Kelly Rowland and other attendees is being sued by a Ukrainian model, who claims the official “brutally” held her down.
Sawa Pontyjska says she also filed a legal complaint against the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival over the alleged assault.
FashionTV presenter Pontyjska said bbc news She was trying to access the premiere of the French film Marcello Mio with a legitimate ticket when she was stopped.
This is the same premiere that Kelly Rowland was attending when she had a dispute with the employee.
Documents released by the model reveal that she has accused staff of “physical assault and psychological harm” as well as damage to her reputation, and is seeking €100,000 (£85,000) in damages.
Sawa Pontyjska denounces the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival for assault
In the video, the model is seen at the top of the stairs of the Festival Palace, with the infamous guard surrounding her with his arms.
Pontyjska posted a video of the altercation to her TikTok page on May 21 and it has already racked up more than 16 million views.
In the video, the model is seen at the top of the stairs of the Festival Palace, with the infamous guard surrounding her with his arms.
There is a struggle between the two as the staff member apparently tries to get her inside, but the model tries to escape his grasp.
Pontyjska walked away and fell to the ground before trying to walk away and go down the stairs.
However, she was met by more security guards and taken inside the building.
She told BBC News: “I was trying to escape from this lock.” I went down and started running down the stairs because it was the way back (out).
‘She was trying to push me in (to the side), so that no one can see what she is doing to me. She then kicked me out the back door.
The model added that she had a fine like everyone else and that she was not doing anything wrong.
There is a struggle between the two as the staff member apparently tries to get her inside, but the model tries to escape his grasp.
In her court complaint, she claims that she was “violently challenged” in front of “thousands of people,” which caused her “acute pain” and “psychological trauma.”
The now-famous security guard’s first viral encounter was with Rowland, who had been attending the same premiere.
He says he has since tried to contact the organizers to request an apology, but has yet to receive a response.
In her legal complaint, she says she was “violently challenged” in front of “thousands of people,” causing her “acute pain” and “psychological trauma.”
The now-famous security guard’s first viral encounter was with Rowland, who had been attending the same premiere.
As Kelly walked up the famous steps, she appeared to get into a verbal dispute with a member of security after she raised her arm to guide her into the venue.
Footage of the altercation shows a furious Kelly visibly berating the staff member while raising her finger to admonish the woman in front of the crowd present.
The security guard seemed to respond frantically to Kelly, who even turned to continue his tirade as he climbed the rest of the stairs.
Kelly has since spoken out about the incident and claimed that there were other women who didn’t look like her who were treated differently and insisted that she was simply standing her ground.
‘The woman knows what happened. I know what happened,’ she said. ‘And I have a limit. And I maintain those boundaries and that’s it.”
“There were other women who attended that carpet, who didn’t look much like me, and they weren’t scolded or pushed or told to get off.”
Just a few days later, another nasty dispute broke out involving the same staff member and Dominican actress Massiel Taveras.
Taveras was attempting to unfold a Jesus-themed dress on the red carpet, but struggled to untangle it and became angry at the employee.
Just a few days later, another nasty dispute broke out involving the same staff member and Dominican actress Massiel Taveras.
The star was on the red carpet last weekend, preparing to unfold a huge dress with a depiction of Jesus, but seemed surprised when the security guard stopped her.
Footage of the dispute showed the actress being detained by the security guard who extended her arm to her.
While other staff members helped put the dress on while Taveras greeted fans, she became angry when the security guard kept his arm extended in front of her posing.
The two exchanged a few words on the red carpet as staff carried the train up the stairs before Taveras grabbed the end of another guard’s dress and threw it to the floor in frustration.
The security guard kept her arm close to Taveras as she escorted her up the stairs, although it is unclear why she followed her so closely.
When she reached the top of the stairs, Taveras, who was previously crowned Miss Dominican Republic and competed in Miss Universe, struggled to unfold the train of her dress.
This led her to berate the security guard when he tried to intervene, raising her arms in frustration.
Most recently, the usher once again came under fire for “disrespecting” Korean actress YoonA by blocking her photos on the red carpet.
After she finally untangled her dress, Taveras greeted her fans, but the security guard kept her arm on the actress and appeared to push her toward the entrance.
That move elicited an angry reaction from Taveras as she pushed the security guard away from her, before raising her finger and scowling at him.
Most recently, the usher once again came under fire for “disrespecting” Korean actress YoonA by blocking her photos on the red carpet.
The K-pop star-turned-actress, 33, was preparing to pose for photos on the iconic red stairs when she was stopped by the security guard.
Although the actress did not express her anger openly, her facial expression seemed visibly upset and uncomfortable as the employee ran her down the stairs.
The usher has not been publicly identified, but is known to be a local Frenchwoman on a short-term contract with the week-long Festival.
After the row with Kelly Rowland, colleagues of the security guard at the Cannes spotlight insisted to DailyMail.com that she was acting appropriately and was “just doing her job.”
“She was an usher working under a lot of pressure to keep people on the carpet moving, to keep crowds from building up,” said a veteran of the festival staff, who has worked at the complex every May for 20 years.
“There was no pushing, shoving or nagging,” he said. ‘Safety and security are the priorities, in addition to meeting the strict deadlines established according to the contracts; Even celebrities have to follow the rules.
‘There are many ushers involved and they always act professionally and courteously.
“In this case, the usher was certainly just doing her job, she didn’t do anything wrong.”
According to the BBC, festival organizers did not respond to requests for comment.