Kelly Rowland Addresses Tense Cannes Moment, Suggests Guard Singled Her Out Over Race: 'I Stood My Ground'

The Destiny's Child member addressed the viral clip captured at Cannes Film Festival earlier this week.

Mike Marsland / Mike Marsland / WireImage

Kelly Rowland doesn't regret having to tell off a security guard for disrespecting her at Cannes Film Festival earlier this week.

While attending another event during the two-week festival, Rowland addressed the incident in a quick chat with Associated Press, hinting that she was a victim of prejudice.

"The woman knows what happened, I know what happened," Rowland said, appearing to be overwhelmed from the experience. "I have a boundary and I stand by those boundaries and that is it."

The actress-singer added that 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."

She concluded, "I stood my ground and she felt like she had to stand hers."

"I stood my ground."

Kelly Rowland says "I have a boundary" after video of her argument with a red carpet security guard at the Cannes Film Festival went viral this week. pic.twitter.com/Z5UZMF56SA

— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) May 23, 2024
Twitter: @APEntertainment

We have a video! Do we have lip readers? 😂 https://t.co/uEBtMJFxB8 pic.twitter.com/vQmMH8JFG5

— I Choose Violence (@ourhermitage) May 21, 2024
Twitter: @ourhermitage

The red carpet event that Rowland is referring to was the Cannes premiere of French-Italian comedy Marcello Mio, where she scolded a security guard for trying to rush her up the stairs while she was posing for photographers. As the footage was taken from afar, multiple lip readers tried to decode what Rowland and the woman were saying to each other, including an expert for Page Six.

"Don’t talk to me like that. Don’t talk to me like that," Rowland allegedly said, according to expert Jeremy Freeman. "You’re not my mother. I told you not to talk to me like that."

The security guard appeared to be flustered by Rowland checking her while pointing a finger in her face. But the embarrassment didn't stop the four-time Grammy winner from correcting her again before proceeding into the venue.

Cannes Film Festival ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ulcwu7B2Y0

— KELENDRIA ROWLAND (@KELLYROWLAND) May 22, 2024
Twitter: @KELLYROWLAND

The incident was the second time this year that Rowland had to publicly stand on business. In February, she reportedly left talk show Today after her dressing room allegedly wasn't up to par.

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