The Cannes Film Festival is known for its dramatic red carpets. However, things got a little too dramatic on Tuesday when Kelly Rowland had to the ushers know she ain’t nothing to mess with.
According to Variety, while attending the premiere of “Marcello Mio,” the singer/actress was posing for photos when ushers started requesting that she move to the stairs at the Palais des Festivals. Once she began to climb the stairs, three more ushers popped up to create a wall and moved her to the right. When she went to wave at fans, two ushers came up behind her “with their hands out to block her view and drive her up the stairs.” Suddenly, a woman holds her arm out, blocking Kelly, which leads the “Motivation” singer to smile at the usher while slightly touching her arm. As the woman keeps her arm up and maneuvers Rowland up the stairs, the Destiny’s Child star gives her a finger wave, presumably letting her know this escalation and aggression wasn’t necessary.
As you would expect, Black Twitter was not about to let this disrespect of Queen Kelendria stand without comment, and they’re hilarious.
One user had a perfect nickname for the usher confronting Rowland, writing on X, “Omg French Karen had Kelly Rowland all the way fucked up at Cannes.”
Another person noted that the apology needs to be as public as the disrespect, posting, “They had better never! Ever do that again. The apology had better be LOUD!!! Oh and you looked FABULOUS!!”
Meanwhile, someone who claimed to have previously worked with the “When Love Takes Over” singer defended her from the expected besmirching of her name, writing on X, “As someone who has toured with Kelly Rowland & witnessed her maintain composure during chaotic moments, I can attest that she’s one of the most non-controversial ones out there. I hope that people w/ discerning eyes will recognize this & refrain from maligning her character.”
Referencing her recent beef with “TODAY” over a broom closet sized dressing room, one person applauded her self-confidence, posting, “I love that Kelly Rowland is standing her ground from the Today Show to that red carpet.. that is black royalty!”
What’s so frustrating about the coverage of this story is the use of the words “flips out,” “yells,” “snaps,” or “fights” to describe Kelly’s reaction. She did none of these things, but it very clearly paints her as a diva or an “angry Black woman.” In reality, all she did was stand up for herself when she was being mistreated. Apparently, Black women aren’t allowed to advocate for themselves when they’re out in public. As Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett so eloquently reminded the world, we’re not doormats.
Cannes is known for having an extremely strict red carpet when it comes to time, so ushers urging stars to hurry through photos is not new. However, I can’t help but wonder if she would have been this openly aggressive with a white star? It’s understandable that these ushers have a difficult job to do, but if Rowland is politely moving to the theater and not being openly disrespectful, there’s no need to treat her like this.