Cannes Film Festival Sued Over Usher’s Assault

This 12 months’s Cannes Film Festival garnered a lot consideration for the incorrect causes, because of an usher who took her job a bit of too severely.

The feminine escort, whose id stays unknown, went viral after movies of her ushering a number of celebrities escalated into rows. Now, Ukrainian mannequin Sawa Pontyjska is suing the occasion’s showrunners over her encounter with the lady.

Pontyjska lately opened up about her traumatic purple carpet-experience on the Cannes Movie Pageant on Might 21. She revealed that she had filed a authorized grievance after being assaulted by the occasion’s usher.

The Ukrainian mannequin recalled being “brutally” restrained when she tried to entry the cinema with a legit ticket for the premiere of “Marcello Mio.”

Nevertheless, the feminine guard frightened her by locking her in a “bear hug” whereas she was on the high of the Cannes’ iconic steps.

“I used to be making an attempt to flee from this lock. I went down, and I began to run away on the steps as a result of it was the best way again [out],” Pontyjska informed BBC News, including:

“She was making an attempt to push me in[side], so no person can see what she’s doing with me. Then she kicked me out by the again door.”

In her interview, Pontyjska harassed that she did nothing incorrect to trigger the usher’s wild response and had since tried to contact the organizers for an apology. Nevertheless, the Cannes Movie Pageant heads haven’t responded to her question or authorized grievance.

Pontyjska famous in her lawsuit that she was “violently challenged by one in every of a bunch of safety guards” in entrance of “hundreds of individuals.” She claimed the usher’s use of bodily power induced “acute ache,” and he or she additionally suffered “psychological trauma.”

Other than an apology, the Ukrainian entertainer harassed that her fame had taken a beating following the incident, and he or she wished 100,000 euros (£85,000) in damages.

Pontyjska additionally addressed her encounter with the Cannes usher on TikTok, sharing a now-viral clip of the confrontation that has amassed greater than 16 million views and a whole lot of supportive feedback.

Within the video, Pontyjska is on the high of the steps to the Palais des Festivals, with the feminine guard trying to pull her inside. The usher has her arms across the mannequin, resulting in a short battle that just about sends Pontyjska to the bottom.

Finally, the Ukrainian entertainer broke the guard’s grip and tried to return down the steps. Nevertheless, she was stopped by extra safety personnel and brought inside per BBC.

As said, this is not the Cannes usher first rodeo with celebrities, as she had a heated alternate with former Future’s Baby member Kelly Rowland. When requested about her confrontation with the guard, she stated:

“The girl is aware of what occurred. I do know what occurred. I’ve a boundary, and I stand by these boundaries, and that’s it.”

Rowland continued saying, “There have been different girls that attended that carpet who didn’t fairly appear to be me, and so they did not get scolded or pushed or informed to get off. I stood my floor, and he or she felt like she needed to stand hers.”

In contrast to Pontyjska’s expertise, Rowland went viral for calling out the Cannes usher for allegedly addressing her rudely. The Blast reported {that a} video of the confrontation turned a number of followers into lip-reading detectives.

In response to lip-reading knowledgeable Jacqui Press, the drama started when a feminine guard stepped on Rowland’s gown as she ushered her up the steps. The escort apologized, which the singer accepted earlier than turning strict when the lady stated one thing else.

It was unclear what the usher informed Rowland, nevertheless it bought the 43-year-old repeatedly scolding the lady, saying: “Do not discuss to me like that” and “You continue to do not discuss to me like that!”

Different followers echoed comparable sentiments to Press’s lip studying, with one social media person believing Rowland stated, “Do not discuss to me like that. Do not discuss to me like that. You are not my momma. I informed you to not discuss to me like that.”

In response to an informant, the Cannes ushers attended to their duties poorly. “The individuals who are assigned to serving to stars stroll the purple carpet had been being aggressive, and Kelly was making an attempt to disregard it,” the supply claimed.

The insider famous that by the point Rowland reached “the final girl,” she was over being rushed, particularly for the reason that usher scolded her. The Blast reported {that a} comparable incident occurred with Dominican actress Massiel Taveras.

A video of the altercation captured the identical feminine guard ushering Taveras up the steps and stopping her from displaying her Jesus-themed cape.

Issues escalated when the guard put an arm across the actress in an try to maneuver her away, inflicting the latter to shove her.