Kelly Rowland appeared to reprimand an usher on the Cannes red carpet on Tuesday night after he was pushed up the stairs by festival staff.
Rowland was at the premiere of her film “Marcello Mio,” which is in competition at the festival, and walked the red carpet there, where she stopped for the phalanx of photographers who took a photo of her.
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A video shows an usher waving twice at Rowland, apparently motioning for her to go up the stairs at the Palais des Festivals. As the Destiny’s Child star ascends the stairs, a trio of other ushers, all dressed in black, appear around her, forming a barrier on one side, forcing her to the right side of the stairs. At one point, as Rowland turns to wave to someone in the crowd behind her, two more ushers appear behind the singer with their hands outstretched to block her view and force her up the stairs.
One of the ushers, a woman in a black suit, keeps her arm close to Rowland’s back, and the singer smiles and touches the usher’s outstretched arm, as if to tell her that it is not necessary, and walks purposefully up the stairs. But the usher keeps her arm up, with her fingers outstretched, close to Rowland’s back, and Rowland turns to the usher again, seemingly admonishing her. As Rowland walks down the stairs and into the Palais, the usher performs the same action on a woman who appears to be with Rowland.
Full video of Kelly Rowland performs at Cannes After seeing the security, I hugged her but she had no idea what she meant but she was big.
E a mulher encostou nela, e tem em a coisa q frita americano é vc encostar neles sem motivo! pic.twitter.com/IR0AvxoDYE
— Samir Duarte (@eusousamir) May 22, 2024
The festival is known for its strict red carpet rules, including the dress code. Women were reportedly once banned from the red carpet at Cannes unless they were wearing high heels. However, the rules have since been changed after the festival faced some criticism at its 2015 edition.
Since 2018, selfies on the red carpet have also been banned in Cannes. Officials say the ban is intended to speed up the flow of people into the Palais. Guests are also turned away if they linger too long. In 2013, Lady Victoria Hervey, a regular visitor to Cannes, was reportedly asked to move on after posing for photographers on the red carpet outside the Palais for too long.
A Cannes spokesman declined to comment.
There was no response from Rowland’s representatives by press time.
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