On Tuesday, May 21, a video showed renowned Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland in a heated exchange with a security guard at the Cannes Film Festival. The incident took place on the red carpet during the premiere of the French-Italian comedy film “Marcello Mio.”
In the footage, Rowland, 43, is seen enjoying her moment on the red carpet, smiling, and posing for the cameras. The situation escalated when an usher approached her, motioning for her to move up the stairs. Rowland initially ignored the request, continuing to engage with fans and photographers. Persistent in her duties, the usher tried again to direct Rowland up the stairs.
Eventually, Rowland complied, ascending the stairs but pausing before reaching the top to wave at her fans. At this point, another usher inadvertently stepped on her dress, which triggered Rowland’s ire. She turned around, shouting and pointing at the usher in what was an aggressive manner.
Though the audio of the confrontation is unclear in the clip, a professional lip reader later deciphered the exchange, claiming that Rowland said, “Don’t talk to me like that. Don’t talk to me like that. You’re not my mother. I told you not to talk to me like that.”
Kelly Rowland insinuates she was racially profile
Following the incident, the singer/actress has suggested that racism might have played a part in the usher’s behaviour towards her.
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“The woman knows what happened. I know what happened. I have a boundary, and I stand by those boundaries, and that is it,” she continued. “And there were other women that attended that carpet who did not quite look like me and didn’t get scolded, pushed off, or told to get off. I stood my ground, and she felt like she had to stand hers. But I stood my ground,” she reportedly said.