Kelly Rowland Says ‘I Stood My Ground’ in Clash With Cannes Red Carpet Usher: Other Women ‘Who Didn’t Quite Look Like Me Didn’t Get Scolded or Pushed Off’

Kelly Rowland is speaking out about being “scolded” by an usher on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet. The “Destiny’s Child” alum made headlines out of Cannes earlier this week when she appeared to clash with a red carpet usher at the premiere of “Marcello Mio.” Speaking to the Associated Press at the amfAR gala a couple days later, Rowland confirmed she was “told to get off” the carpet.

“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 about the incident. “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.”

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A video of the incident showed an usher twice beckoning towards Rowland, apparently indicating to her that she had to get off the carpet at the Palais des Festivals and walk up the stairs to enter the theater. A trio of ushers then walked around Rowland as she turned to wave at somebody in the crowd behind her. Two more ushers appeared behind the singer with their hands out to block her view and drive her up the stairs. Rowland appeared to forcefully address one of the ushers amid the clash.

The Cannes Film Festival is known for its strict red carpet policies. It does not allow attendees walking the red carpet to take selfies or use their cameras. Ushers often hurry guests into the theater and don’t allow them to linger on the carpet. The festival also once had a notorious dress code policy that banned women who weren’t wearing heels from walking the red carpet, although the policy was changed after the festival received backlash during its 2015 edition.

Watch Rowland’s full comments to the Associated Press in the post below.

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