Fans have defended Kelly Rowland after she was seen heatedly scolding a security guard on Thursday (21 May).
The former Destiny Child’s singer was attending the premiere of French film Marcello Mio, directed by Christophe Honoré at the 77th Cannes Film Festival when the incident occurred.
Before the dispute, she was seen smiling widely on the red carpet as she posed for several photos.
As the 43-year-old proceeded to make her way up the stairs leading into the screening, a female security guard could be seen guiding the singer away from cameras as she attempted to stand for further photos.
The guard then appeared to stand on the star’s dress as she continued to place her hand close to Rowland’s back.
The “Motivation” singer then turned around to speak sternly to the guard, who appeared not to back down, before she then raised her finger to visibly scold her.
Other event staff appeared to calm the guard down as the singer walked away from the altercation. The guard could then be seen laughing to colleagues.
It is unclear what caused the dispute. The Independent has contacted a representative for Rowland for comment.
Fans came to Rowland’s defence as they felt that the guard had been disrespectful to the singer by standing on her dress and attempting to “rush” her up the stairs.
“She was laughing in Kelly’s face when she politely told her she’d stepped on her dress,” speculated one person as the footage circulated on X/Twitter.
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“I like to support workers at events like this but that ‘security’ should be fired… especially for visibly laughing to others at the end after continuously disrespecting that lady?” added another, while others called the guard a “French Karen”.
“Kelly Rowland had to gather security after they tried to rush her up the stairs while she attempted to talk to fans and paparazzi,” defended another.
Others pointed out that the guard had been in the singer’s personal space.
“Why she keep trying to touch Kelly too ugh GET BACK,” said one frustrated fan, while another joked: “Still till this day the female security hand is still out.”
It comes weeks after Rowland dropped out of a co-hosting appearance on NBC’s Today with Hoda & Jenna.
After the “Stole” singer’s brief appearance during the network’s 8am morning broadcast to promote her new Netflix movie, Mea Culpa, Rowland was scheduled to co-host NBC’s 10th-hour show with Kotb.
However, according to Page Six, sources said that Rowland and her team “did not like the dressing room, so they decided to pull her off the show, leaving [Kotb] without a guest host for the 10am hour”.
Kotb has addressed the alleged incident on air as she said “I just want to say this: I have great love and admiration for Kelly Rowland. I adore her, and I want her to come back on our show, and I want her to host again.”
