Another heated altercation broke out on the Cannes red carpet as actress Massiel Taveras confronted the same female security guard who had clashed with Kelly Rowland days earlier. The Dominican actress was on the red carpet on Saturday afternoon, getting ready to reveal a large gown depicting Jesus on it but appeared surprised when the security guard stopped her.
Footage of the altercation showed Taveras ignoring instructions and tossing the train of her dress down the stairs. The situation escalated when Taveras shoved the female security guard as she walked into the event. Taveras got angry as the security guard kept her arm out in front of her posing.
Clashing on the Red Carpet
This incident comes just days after the same guard was scolded by Rowland on the red carpet. Rowland implied the confrontation was due to racism, while the guard's colleagues insisted, she was "only doing her job."
In the video of Taveras' confrontation, the actress appeared ready to unravel her huge train down the steps but was swiftly stopped by the female security guard, who extended her arm.
As other staffers helped lay out the dress and Taveras waved to fans, she became angry when the security guard continued to hold her arm out in front of her posing.
The two exchanged a few words on the red carpet while staff pulled the train up the stairs. Taveras then took the end of the dress from another guard and threw it to the floor in frustration.
The female security guard kept her arm close to Taveras as she escorted her up the stairs, though it is unclear why the guard was following her so closely.
When she reached the top of the stairs, Taveras—who was previously crowned Miss Dominican Republic and competed in Miss Universe—struggled to unfurl the train of her dress.
This led her to berate the security guard when she tried to help, throwing her arms up in frustration.
After the dress finally disentangled, Taveras waved to her fans, but the security guard kept her arm across the actress and seemed to push her toward the entrance, sparking an angry reaction from Taveras, who shoved the guard away, raised her finger, and scowled at her.
Reason Unknown
It is unclear why the security guard confronted Taveras just three days after the guard's altercation with Kelly Rowland.
The singer expressed shock at her treatment on the red carpet, suggesting that racism was the reason she was targeted.
She pointed out 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 controversy told the Daily Mail 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.
"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 for the week-long festival.
