Kelly Rowland’s ‘Boundary’ Was Crossed On Cannes Red Carpet: ‘I Stood My Ground’

Kelly Rowland explains why she had to stand her ground on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet.

Kelly Rowland isn’t shying away from addressing the now-viral run-in she had on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet on Tuesday, May 21.

The Destiny’s Child singer has kept her head high after the media captured the moment she turned around and pointed her finger in the face of security who rushed to push and escort her off the red carpet of the high-profile film festival. Rowland, like all of the other stars, was gracefully walking up the steps and turning around to wave hello to fans looking to capture a nice photo.

But security followed closely behind her and used their hands to push her up the stairs and off the carpet. One woman security guard appeared aggressive in her approach and stepped on Rowland’s red gown while holding her arm out to escort the singer/actress off the red carpet.

Rowland appears to say something to the female guard while maintaining a smile before getting more serious in her tone after the guard continues to rush her away. Instead of a graceful red carpet photo in her fiery red Anamika Khanna gown with a sweeping train on the Palais des Festivals staircase, Rowland had photos showing the security guards escorting her away.

Anyone who got too close, argued ‘at’ her, stepped on her dress, laughed afterwards, needs to be fired. pic.twitter.com/Vtp34MqRiR
— Nikki Fowler (@NikkiFowler28) May 22, 2024

It didn’t take long before the heated exchange made its rounds across social media. Many defended Rowland for sticking up for herself to the security, who seemingly didn’t know or care about her celebrity status. While other stars were given time to stand along the staircase and pose for photos, Rowland appeared to be the only one who had a far different experience.

Rowland spoke with the Associated Press at the amfAR Cannes Gala in France on Thursday, May 23, and explained why she had to stand her ground after having her boundaries crossed.

“The woman knows what happened. I know what happened,” Rowland said. “I have a boundary, and I stand by those boundaries, and that is it.”

The “Like This” singer went on to note what she took as racial profiling when looking at her red carpet experience compared to her celebrity peers who “did not quite look like me.”

“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,” Rowland added. “I stood my ground, and she felt like she had to stand hers, but I stood my ground.”

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Organizers of this year’s Cannes Film Festival have not commented on the incident, The Guardian reports. But fans are speaking out about what they view as clear mistreatment of the celebrated singer.

“When they see a black successful person they start getting irritated…bad character,” one fan wrote.

“I can tell it hurts her to be treated that way. People don’t talk about how it’s painful to HAVE to stand your ground,” added another.