The army that Destiny’s Child created was ready to suit up and go to war for Kelly Rowland following a tense interaction she had with security at the Cannes film festival.
On Tuesday (May 21), a video of Rowland walking the red carpet at the premiere for French-Italian film Marcello Mio went viral after fans identified an apparent dust-up between the vocalist and security staff working the event.
After seemingly being rushed off the carpet while attempting to wave to fans and pose for paparazzi, Rowland appeared to lose her temper with one of the female event staff members and engaged in a heated exchange with her.
It’s worth noting that it appears what set the entire interaction off occurred when the woman escorting Rowland allegedly stepped on the singer’s dress. At one point, Rowland appears to be raising her voice and pointer her fingers in the face of the woman in an aggressive manner.
However, according to Cannes insiders, the event staff were allegedly the aggressors in this specific instance, rather than Rowland being a diva.
“The people who are assigned to helping stars walk the red carpet were being aggressive, and Kelly was trying to ignore it,” a source told The Daily Mail. “By the time she got to the last woman she had had it, because she scolded Kelly and told her to move when she was trying to wave to fans and help the paparazzi get their shot.”
Rowland’s altercation quickly began trending on Twitter (X) as an overwhelming majority of her fans and supporters expressed their concern with how she was treated, and also took the opportunity to poke fun about what she told the usher.
This is what we heard too 🤣🤣
Kelly Rowland pic.twitter.com/TtdUAv6KQx— 💙Amber🇹🇿 (@AmberTMzuka) May 22, 2024
In a lengthy tweet shared by @NikkiFowler28 who frequents the festival, the user pointed out that certain attendees were allowed to walk the carpet unaided, alleging prejudice played a role in Rowland’s treatment.
“The difference is striking in how ‘some’ are rushed off the steps with arms in her face and stepping on her dress and some, they will wait patiently for,” Fowler wrote.
“To see Kelly endure prejudice, and yes I know exactly what that was by the videos and photos, is sad. Guess what? We aren’t the problem, when I can count on ONE hand how many Black women are in the audience at Cannes, maybe the problem is ‘some’ of your ignorant poorly trained security and ushers that need to leave their Karen ism at home.”
Just waking up in Cannes with my espresso to see them disrespecting Kelly Rowland last night on the carpet.
The difference is striking in how ‘some’ are rushed off the steps with arms in her face and stepping on her dress and some, they will wait patiently for.
To see Kelly… pic.twitter.com/li0A0h2swZ
— Nikki Fowler @Cannes (@NikkiFowler28) May 22, 2024
Rowland posted about attending the festival, sharing photos from the red carpet on her personal Instagram and Twitter (X) account, but has not addressed the specifics of the interaction she had with the usher.
Though it’s unconfirmed, multiple social media users are convinced Rowland told the woman something along the lines of “Don’t talk to me like that” and or, “Don’t talk to me like I am a child.”
Additionally, a source told The New York Post one of the ushers replied “it’s ok,” when Rowland explained that her dress was being stepped on, which potentially further exacerbated the situation.
Check out the original footage in the tweet links here, and see Rowland’s post about the festival below.
