Cannes Controversy: Security Guard’s Alleged Racist Behavior Targets K-pop Star YoonA

Claims of racial treatment by a security officer who allegedly singled out K-pop sensation YoonA have Cannes under fire. There are questions over racial intolerance at the esteemed event after similar incidents involving singer Kelly Rowland and Dominican actress Massiel Taveras.

The incident started when a security officer allegedly stopped YoonA—who was attending the 77th Cannes Film Festival in a pink gown—from speaking with cameras. It’s rumored by fans that the guard objects to “women of color posing on the stairs.” A fan posted a video of the event, asking why the guard was still working there following the Kelly Rowland incident.

YoonA looked uneasy in the video as the guard hurried her across the red carpet. This video surfaced not too long after Kelly Rowland charged the same guard with acting racist. Rowland said that the guard was biassed since American performers were allowed more time to pose.

The guard who tried to stop Massiel Taveras from posing in her dress was shown in another video getting into a furious dispute with her. At last, Taveras shoved past the security to strike a picture.

Kelly Rowland brought attention to the unfairness in treatment in an AP interview, saying that women who did not resemble her did not receive the same physical prodding or reprimands. A more general conversation about racial prejudice and discrimination has been started at the Cannes Film Festival with this series of events.

These episodes have sparked demands for more responsibility and consideration in the treatment of all festival goers, regardless of their background or ethnicity, as it goes on.