A female security guard seen in clashes with celebrities on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival this year has come under fire for a third time after appearing to block Korean actress, Yoona, from taking photos.
The unidentified guard has faced backlash online after separate, heated altercations with Dominican actor Massiel Taveras and former Destiny’s Child star Kelly Rowland.
In the latest clip, Yoona – who was in K-Pop group, Girls’ Generation, before becoming an actor – is approached by the security guard and moves to the top of the stairs. The guard keeps her arm outstretched, making it difficult for the actor to stop or wave to fans.
Though she continues to move, the actor, whose full name is Im Yoon-ah, appears surprised and uncomfortable during the interaction.
Fans of all three women have come to their defense with some describing the security guard as disrespectful and others calling for her to be fired.
In a video posted last week, Kelly Rowland, 43, was seen scolding the guard and having a heated interaction.
Following the incident, Rowland, who is Black, noted that other women on the carpet who “did not look quite like me” were not treated in the same way.
“The woman knows what happened; I know what happened,” Rowland told AP Entertainment. “I have a boundary, and I stand by those boundaries and that is it. And there were other women who attended that carpet, who did not look quite like me.
“And they didn’t get scolded, or pushed off or told to get off. And I stood my ground, and she felt like she had to stand hers. But I stood my ground.”
In footage, Rowland was seen smiling and posing for photos as she made her way along the red carpet. The security guard follows her and guides her away from the cameras as she attempts to stand for more photos.
The guard then appeared to accidentally step on the train of the star’s dress while continuing to place her hand close to Rowland’s back. The singer turned around to speak sternly to the security guard, who appeared not to back down, before Rowland raised her finger to visibly scold her.
During the altercation with Massiel Taveras, the same guard was seen placing her arm over the TV presenter’s head and chest, as she attempted to usher her inside.
Taveras then turned around and seemingly placed her hand over the guard’s face in retaliation and shoved her.
Taveras, who has starred in films including The Other Penelope, has reposted articles with Rowland’s comments about the same red carpet security guard to her Instagram story, and later said she had reacted strongly because she was “tired of the abuse”.
Addressing Rowland in an Instagram post, she wrote: “I’m impressed how you handled sister, I didn’t now that happened to you first I was very impressed how calm and genteel you wr because in my case I was tired of the abuse , —BLACK WOMAN MATTERS- we are not going to be in silence on situations like that , we need respect.”
Colleagues of the security guard told The Daily Mail that she was “just doing her job”. It is understood that the usher is a local Frenchwoman on a short-term contract with the festival.
A source told the Mail that the guard was “working under a lot of pressure” to keep those on the carpet moving, and that allegations of racism or discrimination were “ridiculous”.
The Independent has emailed the Cannes Film Festival for comment on the incidents with Yoona, Taveras and Rowland.
