Viral Cannes security guard puts fourth celebrity in bear hug

A female security guard, seen clashing with multiple celebrities at the Cannes Film Festival this year, has gone viral again after footage emerged of her appearing to put another star in a bear hug.

The unidentified guard has faced online backlash after separate, heated altercations with high-profile guests including Dominican actor Massiel Taveras, former Destiny’s Child star Kelly Rowland and K-Pop star, Yoona.

The latest clip was posted by Sawa Pontyjska, a Ukrainian model and Miss Europe 2023, who attended the festival last week.

Several videos, circulating on social media and shared by Pontyjska on TikTok and Instagram, show the model tussling with the same female guard, who wraps her arms around her. At the top of the red-carpeted stairs, the pair struggle back and forth, with Pontyjska dropping to the floor at one point. She also attempts to escape back down the steps but is blocked by other members of staff.

Colleagues of the female guard previously told The Daily Mail that she was “just doing her job”, though many online have called for the woman to be fired.

In a clip that resurfaced this week, Yoona – who was in K-Pop group, Girls’ Generation, before becoming an actor – is approached by the security guard and blocked from taking photos. 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.

In a video posted last week, Rowland, 43, was seen scolding the guard in a heated interaction. 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.

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“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.”

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 Pontyjska, Yoona, Taveras and Rowland.