Kelly Rowland appeared to admonish an usher on the Cannes red carpet on Tuesday evening after being rushed up the stairs by staff at the festival.
Rowland was at the premiere of “Marcello Mio,” which is in competition at the festival, where she made her way up the red carpet, stopping for the phalanx of photographers who were snapping her picture.
A video shows one usher twice beckoning towards Rowland, apparently indicating for her to start walking up the stairs at the Palais des Festivals. As the Destiny’s Child star ascends the stairs, a trio of other ushers, all clad in black, materialize around her, forming a barrier on one side that forces her to the right of the staircase. At one point, as Rowland turns to wave at somebody in the crowd behind her, two more ushers appear behind the singer with their hands out to block her view and drive her up the stairs.
One of the ushers, a woman in a black suit, continues to hold her arm out very close to Rowland’s back, at which the singer touches the usher’s outstretched arm with a smile, as if to tell her it’s not necessary, and begins purposefully walking up the stairs. But the usher continues to hold her arm aloft with her fingers spread out very close to Rowland’s back, at which point Rowland turns again to the usher and appears to admonish her. As Rowland walks off the stairs and into the Palais, the usher pulls the same move on a woman who appears to be with Rowland.
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O vídeo completo da Kelly Rowland tretando em Cannes. Pelo visto os seguranças tavam apressando ela, mas assim, de uma forma bem incisiva né, até grosseira.
— Samir Duarte (@eusousamir) May 22, 2024
E a mulher encostou nela, e se tem uma coisa q frita americano é vc encostar neles sem motivo! pic.twitter/IR0AvxoDYE
The festival is known for its strict red carpet policies, including its dress code. Women were allegedly once banned from the Cannes red carpet if they weren’t wearing heels, although the policy has since changed after the festival received some backlash during its 2015 edition.
Cannes also started banning selfies on the red carpet in 2018. Officials said the ban was meant to speed up the flow of people getting into the Palais. Guests are also moved on if they linger for too long. In 2013 socialite Lady Victoria Hervey, a Cannes regular, was reportedly told to move after spending too long posing for photographers on the red carpet outside the Palais.
A spokesperson for Cannes declined to comment.
Reps for Rowland did not respond by press time.
