Colleagues of a red carpet usher accused of disrepecting Kelly Rowland in Cannes have defended the Frenchwoman, saying: ‘She was only doing her job’.
Kelly, the 43-year-old American singer, expressed shock and anger at her treatment during the ongoing Film Festival in the French Riviera resort.
Kelly was attending the premiere of the French film Marcello Mio, in a red flowing gown, when she appeared to engage in a verbal dispute with a member of security.
Pointing towards racism, she suggested that ‘there were other women who attended that carpet, who did not quite look like me, and they didn’t get scolded or pushed off or told to get off.’
But other security personnel working at the showbiz event – one of the most policed in Europe – said the unidentified usher acted appropriately.
Colleagues of a red carpet usher accused of disrepecting Kelly Rowland in Cannes have defended the Frenchwoman, saying: ‘She was only doing her job’
Kelly, the 43-year-old American singer, expressed shock and anger at her treatment during the ongoing Film Festival in the French Riviera resort
‘She was an usher working under a lot of pressure to keep people on the carpet moving, so as to stop crowds building up,’ said a Festival staff veteran, who has been working in the resort every May for 20 years.
‘There was no pushing or shoving, or scolding,’ he said. ‘Security and safety are the priorities, along with keeping to strict timetables set according to contracts – even the celebrities have to stick to the rules.
‘Lots of ushers are involved, and they always act professionally and with politeness.
‘In this case, the usher was certainly only doing her job – she didn’t do anything wrong.’
The usher has not been publicly identified, but she is known to be a local Frenchwoman on a short term contract with the week-long Festival.
The source added: ‘Suggestions of racism are just ridiculous – visitors, and indeed staff at Cannes come from all kinds of backgrounds, and none are discriminated against.’
Another Cannes staffer who has studied the video of Tuesday’s incident said Ms Rowland may have ‘mistakely thought the usher stepped on her dress’.
In fact, this was not the case, and the usher did not physically touch Ms Rowland, or her clothes, at all.
Kelly Rowland has broken her silence on the incident in Cannes in which she appeared to scold a security guard while walking the red carpet on Tuesday
Pointing towards racism, Kelly suggested that ‘there were other women who attended that carpet, who did not quite look like me, and they didn’t get scolded or pushed off or told to get off.’
‘That’s as clear as day – you just have to look at the video,’ said the staff member. ‘I think this might well have been just a misunderstanding.’
Festival officials refused to discuss security matters, but indicated that the usher was still on duty at the event, which ends on Saturday, and there was no inquiry or attempt to discipline anybody.
This year’s Festival – the 77th edition – comes at a time when security in France is at its highest possible level.
There have been threats by terrorist groups to target stars, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have also heightened tensions in the run up to global events, including the Paris Olympics in July, and 80th anniversary of D-Day in June.
Thousands of extra police and gendarmes are on duty around Cannes, while six private security firms are helping to secure the Festival principal site, along the world famous Croissette promenade.
All are instructed to keep people moving, including along the red carpet, so that multi-million dollar TV, film and advertising schedules remain on schedule.
But other security personnel working at the showbiz event – one of the most policed in Europe – said the unidentified usher acted appropriately
It comes after Kelly broke her silence on the incident and claimed there were other women who did not look like her that were treated differently and insisted she was just standing her ground.
‘The woman knows what happened. I know what happened,’ she said. ‘And, I have a boundary. And I stand by those boundaries and that is it.’
‘There were other women who attended that carpet, who did not quite look like me, and they didn’t get scolded or pushed off or told to get off.’
The female security guard held up her arm to guide her into the venue and Kelly appeared furious.
Kelly held up her finger to admonish the woman in front of the crowd in attendance.
The security guard appeared to frantically respond to Kelly, who even turned back to continue her tirade as she made her way up the rest of the steps.
A lip-reading expert revealed what Kelly really 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 apologised and Kelly said: ‘It’s OK.’
However, the security guard then said something else, causing Kelly’s change in mood, as she responded: ‘Don’t talk to me like that.’
As the security guard continued to usher her up the stairs, Kelly turned around and repeated the phrase several times.
The singer had been attending the premiere of the French film Marcello Mio, and looked stunning in a red flowing gown
Kelly, 43, claimed there were other women who did not look like her that were treated differently and insisted she was just standing her ground
Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio was also on the red carpet for Marcello Mio
A male security guard then came down to ask what was being said as the lady was using her hands to move Kelly along.
Kelly finally turned around on the top step and added: ‘You still don’t talk to me like that!’
It was claimed that the tiff came about because staff members were ‘being aggressive’ and Kelly had ‘had it’ with them.
‘The people who are assigned to helping stars walk the red carpet were being aggressive and Kelly was trying to ignore it,’ an insider told DailyMail.com.
‘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,’ they added.
The source also revealed: ‘She doesn’t care if she comes across like a diva if she knows that she is advocating for herself. She isn’t fake and wanted to set a clear boundary.’
It comes just weeks after Kelly walked out of an appearance on the Today show in February, though the reason for this has been disputed.
Kelly appeared furious during the exchange with a member of the security at the festival
It had been claimed that Kelly skipped out on co-hosting the rest of the Today show alongside anchor Hoda Kotb because she was dissatisfied with her dressing room, forcing Rita Ora to step in at the last minute.
However sources have since claimed that Kelly had actually walked off the show due to ‘disrespect’ shown to her by Hoda’s co-host Savannah Guthrie who ‘aggressively’ questioned her about Beyoncé – rather than ask the singer about what she was there to promote – her new film Mea Culpa.
The dressing room excuse was also even seemingly confirmed by Hoda herself, when she offered Rowland to share her dressing next time she comes on the show.
However, it appears Hoda’s comments stirred the pot even further, as an insider 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 that the tiff came about because staff members were ‘being aggressive’ and Kelly had ‘had it’ with them
‘Kelly was offended that Savannah repeatedly and aggressively asked her about Beyoncé,’ the insider told the outlet.
‘Kelly was upset about Savannah’s aggressive questioning about Beyoncé. She and her team were not happy and felt disrespected.’
A source told TMZ soon after, however, that Kelly was not aggressively asked about Beyonce, and adamantly denied The Wrap’s claims.
The Wrap insider said that the dressing room accommodations had nothing to do with Rowland’s exit.
‘The story was spun that Kelly didn’t like her dressing room, but she has been on the Today show numerous times, she and her team know the dressing room set up,’ the insider said.
‘That would not come as a surprise at all.’
