cannes 2024

Kelly Rowland Explains What Happened on Cannes Red Carpet

“Marcello Mio†Red Carpet - The 77th Annual Cannes Film Festival
Photo: Daniele Venturelli/WireImage

During the red-carpet premiere for Marcello Mio, a video surfaced of an usher yelling at Kelly Rowland to seemingly get off the carpet, despite photographers clearly taking her photo. What’s the big deal? And why did the same thing happen to two more stars?

Kelly Rowland stands by her boundaries

May 24, 2024: Excuse me? Aren’t red carpets for taking pics of celebs in fancy dresses and suits? A few days after, on May 23, Rowland told AP what exactly went down that night. “The woman knows what happened. I know what happened. I have a boundary and I stand by those boundaries, and that is it,†Rowland said in a video. “And there were other women that attended that carpet who did not quite look like me and they didn’t get scolded or 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.†Cannes carpets aren’t for the weak, as they have strict policies for not taking selfies and other inconsistent restrictions. But Rowland seems to have it covered, as a red carpet is basically a universal sign to stop and pose a little. Because if a celebrity went to a premiere and no one is around to take a photo, were they even there?

Third time’s really sus

May 27, 2024: Multiple outlets are reporting that the same security guard got into altercations with Dominican actress Massiel Taveras and K-pop star Yoona on the Cannes stairs. Both Taveras and Yoona turned at the top of the stairs, trying to wave to the crowd, only for the guard to block fans (and paps) with her arm. The guard then shooed the women into the building. Taveras appeared to respond to the guard, while Yoona merely delivered side-eye. People on social media noted that all three stars who were filmed getting into it with this guard were women of color. Taveras expressed solidarity with Rowland on Instagram, writing “I didn’t know that happened to you first, I was very impressed how calm and genteel you were because in my case I was tired of the abuse, — BLACK WOMAN MATTERS — we are not going to be in silence on situations like that, we need respect, it’s enough. I hug you queen #kellyrowland.â€

Kelly Rowland Explains What Happened on Cannes Red Carpet