A lip reader deciphered what Kelly Rowland said during a clearly strained moment with a security guardon the red carpet at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday night.
The tiff began innocently when the female staffer accidentally stepped on Rowland’s dress, prompting the singer to say, “Don’t worry” before her mood changed and she began to berate the guard.
“Don’t talk to me like that. Don’t talk to me like that,” she repeated, expert Jeremy Freeman . “You’re not my mother. I told you not to talk to me like that.”
It is unclear what the security staffer said to set off Rowland, as she had her back turned to the cameras.
But the former Destiny’s Child member,43, was still irked when she reached the top of the steps to go into the “Marcello Mio” premiere, turning around and yelling, “You still don’t talk to me like that,” according to Freeman.
The contretemps reportedly ignited because the guards who were helping stars navigate the busy carpet were being “aggressive and Kelly was trying to ignore it,” according to a source.
“By the time [Rowland] got to the last woman, she had had it because she scolded Kelly and told her to move when she was trying to wave to fans and help the paparazzi get their shot,” the insider told the Daily Mail, claiming the Grammy winner did not “care” if she came off as a “diva.”
The blowup comes on the heels of the “Bootylicious” singer making headlines in February for walking off the set of the “Today” show.
Rowland had dramatically exited the NBC morning show because her dressing room was not “up to par,” causing producers to scramble and find a replacement for the actress, who had been set to co-host the final hour with Hoda Kotb.
After the media tsunami, Rowland’s publicist issued a statement calling her client “one of the kindest, most amiable humans I have ever met and have had the blessing to represent.”
