Another ugly spat broke out on the Cannes red carpet as actress Massiel Taveras clashed with a female security guard who confronted Kelly Rowland days before.
The Dominican actress was on the red carpet on Saturday afternoon preparing to unfurl a huge gown with a depiction of Jesus on it, but appeared surprised to be stopped by the security guard.
Footage of the spat showed Taveras defy instructions and throw the train of her dress down the stairs, before the situation escalated to the actress shoving the female security guard as she walked into the event.
It came just days after the same guard was scolded by Rowland on the red carpet, which the Destiny’s Child implied was due to racism while the staffer’s colleagues insisted she was ‘only doing her job.’
Dominican actress Massiel Taveras shoved a security guard on the Cannes red carpet on Saturday after they clashed over her huge dress
Taveras was attempting to unfurl a Jesus-themed dress on the red carpet, but struggled to untangle it and grew irate at staffers
In the video of Taveras’ confrontation, the actress seemed to plan to unravel her huge train down the steps, but was quickly stopped by the female security guard sticking out her arm.
As other staffers helped lay out the dress while Taveras waved to fans, she grew angry as the security guard kept her arm out in front of her posing.
The two exchanged a few words on the red carpet as staff pulled the train up the stairs, before Taveras took the end of the dress from another guard and threw it to the floor in frustration.
Tavarez was previously crowned Miss Dominican Republic and competed at Miss Universe
The female security guard kept her arm close to Taveras as she escorted her up the stairs, although it is unclear what the reason was for the guard to tail her so closely.
When she reached the top of the stairs, Taveras – who was previously crowned Miss Dominican Republic and competed at Miss Universe – struggled to unfurl the train of her dress.
This led her to berate the security guard when she tried to step in, throwing her arms up in frustration.
After the dress finally disentangled, Taveras waved to her fans – but the female security guard kept her arm across the actress, and appeared to jostle her towards the entrance.
That move sparked an angry reaction from Taveras as she shoved the security guard away from her, before sticking up her finger and scowling at her.
It is unclear why Taveras was confronted by the security guard, three days after the staffer also raised eyebrows with her spat with Rowland.
It came just days after the same guard was scolded by Rowland on the red carpet, which the Destiny’s Child implied was due to racism
The singer expressed shock at her treatment on the red carpet, and pointed to racism as being the reason she was targeted.
She suggested that ‘there were other women who attended that carpet, who did not quite look like me, and they didn’t get scolded or pushed off or told to get off.’
However, colleagues of the security guard at the center of the Cannes spotlight insisted to DailyMail.com that she was acting appropriately and was ‘only doing her job.’
‘She was an usher working under a lot of pressure to keep people on the carpet moving, so as to stop crowds building up,’ said a Festival staff veteran, who has been working in the resort every May for 20 years.
‘There was no pushing or shoving, or scolding,’ he said. ‘Security and safety are the priorities, along with keeping to strict timetables set according to contracts – even the celebrities have to stick to the rules.
‘Lots of ushers are involved, and they always act professionally and with politeness.
‘In this case, the usher was certainly only doing her job – she didn’t do anything wrong.’
The usher has not been publicly identified, but she is known to be a local Frenchwoman on a short term contract with the week-long Festival.
The source added: ‘Suggestions of racism are just ridiculous – visitors, and indeed staff at Cannes come from all kinds of backgrounds, and none are discriminated against.’
After footage of Rowland berating the staffer went viral, a lip-reading expert revealed what Kelly really said during the heated interaction with the French woman.
Jacqui Press told MailOnline that after the security guard appeared to step on her dress, she apologised and Kelly said: ‘It’s OK.’
However, the security guard then said something else, causing Kelly’s change in mood, as she responded: ‘Don’t talk to me like that.’
As the security guard continued to usher her up the stairs, Kelly turned around and repeated the phrase several times.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk