Kelly Rowland Addresses Exchange With Cannes Security Guard: ‘I Have A Boundary, And I Stand By Those Boundaries’

Kelly Rowland spoke about her now-viral exchange with a security guard at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

On Thursday, the former Destiny’s Child member shared her experience in a video posted on The Associated Press’s Instagram account. In the clip, she recounted how she stood up against a security employee accused of mistreating her on the Cannes red carpet on Tuesday.

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

She continued, “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.”

Reflecting on the tense moment with the security employee, Rowland added, “I stood my ground, and she felt like she had to stand hers.”

The incident unfolded as Rowland headed inside the venue for the premiere of Marcello Mio . According to The Hollywood Reporter , the guard repeatedly touched her arm to rush up the Palais des Festivals stairs and into the theater.

Rowland appeared annoyed with the guard’s behavior and called her out. Just moments before the heated exchange, the woman accidentally stepped on her dress, with the 43-year-old saying, “Don’t worry.”

According to Page Six , a lip-reading expert interpreted Rowland’s dialogue to the employee: “Don’t talk to me like that. Don’t talk to me like that. You’re not my mother. I told you not to talk to me like that.”

As she reached the top of the steps, Rowland fired back at the guard, “You still don’t talk to me like that.” A source familiar with the situation described how members of Rowland’s team had to step in to rectify the problem.

“By the time [Rowland] 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,” the insider told the Daily Mail , adding, “She doesn’t care if she comes across like a diva if she knows that she is advocating for herself.”