Colleagues of a red carpet usher accused of disrespecting Kelly Rowland in Cannes defended the Frenchwoman, saying: “She was just doing her job.”
Kelly, the 43-year-old American singer, expressed shock and anger at the treatment she received during the ongoing Film Festival at the French Riviera resort.
Kelly was attending the premiere of the French film Marcello Mio, wearing a flowing red dress, when she appeared to get into a verbal dispute with a member of security.
Pointing to racism, she suggested that “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.”
But other security staff working at the showbiz event, one of the most heavily guarded in Europe, said the unidentified usher acted appropriately.
Colleagues of a red carpet usher accused of disrespecting Kelly Rowland in Cannes defended the Frenchwoman, saying: “She was just doing her job.”
Kelly, the 43-year-old American singer, expressed shock and anger at the treatment she received during the ongoing Film Festival at the French Riviera resort.
“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 protection are the priorities, in addition to complying with the strict schedules established according to the contracts; Even celebrities have to respect 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.”
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.
The source added: “Suggestions of racism are simply ridiculous – visitors and indeed staff at Cannes come from all sorts of backgrounds and none are discriminated against.”
Another Cannes staff member who studied video of Tuesday’s incident said Rowland may have “mistakenly thought the usher had stepped on her dress.”
In fact, this was not the case, and the usher did not physically touch Ms Rowland or her clothing at all.
Kelly Rowland has broken her silence over the Cannes incident in which she appeared to scold a security guard while walking the red carpet on Tuesday.
Pointing to racism, Kelly suggested that “there were other women who came to that carpet, who didn’t look much like me, and they weren’t scolded or pushed or told to leave.”
“That’s crystal clear: just look at the video,” the employee said. “I think this could very well have just been a misunderstanding.”
Festival officials declined to discuss safety issues but indicated that the usher was still on duty at the event, which ends Saturday, and that there was no investigation or attempt to discipline anyone.
This year’s Festival – the 77th edition – comes at a time when security in France is at the highest possible level.
There have been threats from terrorist groups to attack stars, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have also raised tensions in the run-up to global events, including the Paris Olympics in July and the 80th anniversary of D-Day in June.
Thousands of additional police and gendarmes are on duty in Cannes, while six private security companies are helping to secure the Festival’s main venue, along the world-famous Croissette promenade.
Everyone is instructed to keep people moving, even along the red carpet, so that multimillion-dollar television, film and advertising programs stay on schedule.
But other security staff working at the showbiz event, one of the most heavily guarded in Europe, said the unidentified usher acted appropriately.
It comes after Kelly broke her silence over the incident and claimed there were other women who didn’t look like her who were treated differently and insisted 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.”
The security guard raised her arm to guide her to the location and Kelly looked furious.
Kelly raised his 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 walked up the rest of the stairs.
A lip reading expert revealed what Kelly actually said during the heated interaction with the French woman.
Jacqui Press told MailOnline that after the security guard appeared to step on her dress, she apologized and Kelly said: “It’s okay.”
However, the security guard then said something else, causing Kelly’s mood to change, and she responded: ‘Don’t talk to me like that.’
As the security guard continued to escort her up the stairs, Kelly turned around and repeated the phrase several times.
The singer had attended the premiere of the French film Marcello Mio and looked spectacular in a flowing red dress.
Kelly, 43, claimed there were other women who didn’t look like her who were treated differently and insisted she was simply standing her ground.
Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio was also on the Marcello Mio red carpet
A security guard then approached to ask what was being said as the lady used her hands to move Kelly.
Kelly finally turned around on the top step and added, ‘You still don’t talk to me like that!’
It was claimed the fight broke out because staff members were “being aggressive” and Kelly was “fed up” with them.
“The people assigned to help the stars walk the red carpet were being aggressive and Kelly was trying to ignore it,” a source told DailyMail.com.
“By the time she got to the last woman, she had had enough because she scolded Kelly and told her to move when she was trying to greet fans and help the paparazzi take their shot,” they added.
The source also revealed: ‘She doesn’t care if she looks like a diva if she knows she’s standing up for herself. She’s not fake and she wanted to set a clear boundary.
It comes just weeks after Kelly pulled out of an appearance on the Today show in February, although the reason has been disputed.
Kelly appeared furious during the exchange with a member of festival security.
It was claimed that Kelly skipped co-hosting the rest of the Today show with host Hoda Kotb because she was dissatisfied with her dressing room, forcing Rita Ora to intervene at the last minute.
However, sources have since claimed that Kelly left the show due to the “lack of respect” shown to her by Hoda’s co-host Savannah Guthrie, who “aggressively” questioned her about Beyoncé, instead of asking the singer what I was there to promote. her new film Mea Culpa.
The dressing room excuse was also apparently confirmed by Hoda herself, when she offered Rowland to share her outfit the next time she attends the show.
However, it seems Hoda’s comments stirred things up even more, as a source told The Wrap that Kelly left after she “felt disrespected” after Guthrie asked her a series of questions about her friend and former bandmate Beyoncé.
It was claimed the fight broke out because staff members were “being aggressive” and Kelly was “fed up” with them.
“Kelly was offended that Savannah repeatedly and aggressively asked her about Beyoncé,” the source told the outlet.
‘Kelly was upset by Savannah’s aggressive questioning of Beyoncé. She and her team were unhappy and felt disrespected.”
However, a source told TMZ shortly afterward that Kelly was not aggressively asked about Beyonce and flatly denied The Wrap’s claims.
Wrap’s source said the locker room accommodation had nothing to do with Rowland’s departure.
“The story got around that Kelly didn’t like her dressing room, but she’s been on the Today show numerous times, she and her team know the setup of the dressing room,” the source said.
“That wouldn’t be any surprise.”