A female security guard, aka Cannes Karen, has gone viral since her heated exchange with celebrities on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.
Key Takeaways
- A female security guard at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival gained notoriety for heated confrontations with celebrities, including Kelly Rowland, Massiel Taveras, and Im Yoon-ah.
- Videos showed the guard aggressively ushering the stars away from photo opportunities, leading to arguments and physical contact.
- While some fans called for the guard’s termination over unprofessional conduct, others defended her actions as simply enforcing event rules.
The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival occurred from 14 to 25 May 2024, and the festival’s highlight became the infamous event.
On May 21, Kelly Rowland was seen arguing heatedly with a female security guard.
As Rowland went up the stairs to the screening area, the guard tried to lead her away from the cameras to prevent her from taking more photos.
Omg French Karen had Kelly Rowland all the way fucked up at Cannes pic.twitter.com/dubBT3IiF9
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) May 21, 2024
Things got worse when the guard seemed to step on Rowland’s dress.
The singer turned around and firmly told off the guard, who didn’t back down. She even raised her finger in a scolding way at the guard.
Before the argument, Rowland had happily posed and smiled on the red carpet for photos.
Cannes Film Festival security guards block a woman posing on the red carpet because her dress featured image of JESUS.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 26, 2024
A female security guard put her hands on the actress before the furious woman shoved her in anger.
The same security guard previously harassed Kelly Rowland. pic.twitter.com/TeNOVwcS1T
Just days later, a similar heated situation happened with actress Massiel Taveras.
As Taveras posed on the red carpet in a dress decorated with an image of Jesus Christ, the female security guard tried to make her go inside, stopping her from taking more photos.
The guard put her arm over Taveras’ head and chest to usher her inside.
The actress turned around and seemed to put her hand on the guard’s face in retaliation.
#GirlsGaneration's #YoonA Faces Alleged Racial Discrimination by Security Guard at 77th Cannes Film Festival.
— K-Drama Handle (@kdramahandle) May 27, 2024
While posing for the press, a female security guard stopped her, causing visible discomfort.
Reports suggest the guard targeted women of color, with similar incidents… pic.twitter.com/SVWbHueEPR
Not only that, the same guard also stopped and rushed K-pop star Im Yoon-ah from Girls Generation, causing visible discomfort.
Aftermath Of The Controversy
Ever since the incident went viral on the internet, many fans of the celebrities have demanded the security guard be fired.
Under a post on Facebook, one fan wrote,
Replace the security. Very unprofessional. Obviously the security wants to steal the attention and moment.
Likewise, a few others said, “She needs to be fired!”
Celebrities: *posing*
— frankie gabagool 🤌 (@beantownthot) May 26, 2024
The Cannes security guard: pic.twitter.com/uPOcEGeD0I
On the other hand, netizens have come to her aid, claiming that she was only doing her job.
One Reddit user wrote in her support saying,
“Could security have been nicer? Potentially, but also, it isn’t their job to be nice it seems like it’s their job to get people off the stairs, and they did. I don’t think security should be shamed for being hired and doing what they were hired to do. If you want to complain, complain about the festival having some weird stair related rules.”
Another one followed,
“She did her job as people aren’t supposed to pose on the stairs. If celebs would care to remember the rules of the events they get to go to, she wouldn’t have had to do anything.”
Like seriously why is @Festival_Cannes allowing their crazy security guards to tackle & harass guests like this?😤😡 People should just boycott this spectacle until they learn respect. This same security guard has been harassing guests for years!
— Zandi Sussex (@ZandiSussex) May 26, 2024
pic.twitter.com/Lrunm4Jk2J
The third one said,
“She does it to literally everyone. Blaming every inconvenience on racism reduces actual incidences of racism.”
It’s still not revealed if the security guard was fired or not, but based on our speculation, she will not be fired.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- The iconic red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival spans 60 meters and is replaced thrice daily.
- Canal+ selects the festival host alongside the director and event organizer.
- The Cannes Film Festival’s budget is around €30 million ($33 million).
