Cannes festival controversy: Models allege mistreatment by security

Sawa Pontyjska, a Ukrainian model, was among the guests at the Cannes festival who experienced mistreatment by security. The model announced on Instagram that she demands high compensation from the organizers. She also shared footage of the incident.

Although the Cannes Festival has already concluded, there is still an ongoing uproar online regarding how security hired by the organizers treated some guests. First, an online clip showed Kelly Rowland arguing with a security guard, urging her to enter unceremoniously. The unpleasant incident later brought the singer to tears. Subsequently, the Destiny's Child member stated the matter, accusing the security of racism and "scolding" her.

A few days later, Dominican model Massiel Taveras argued with security on the legendary stairs when she was forbidden to showcase her entire outfit (the train of her dress featured an image of Jesus). Eventually, tensions escalated to physical altercations, and the woman forcefully pushed the security guard.

A similar fate befell the Ukrainian woman Sawa Pontyjska. The model announced that she would file a lawsuit against the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival, sharing excerpts of documents via Instagram. According to these documents, the reason for taking legal action is a "brutal attack by a security employee" she allegedly experienced before the premiere of the film "Marcello Mio."

As with Rowland and Taveras' cases, the incident with Pontyjska was recorded by cameras and ended up online. In the footage, which the involved party shared on her profile, we see one of the security employees trying to push the model towards the building where the "Marcello Mio" premiere was taking place. The women briefly struggle, resulting in the Ukrainian falling to the ground. After briefly attempting to flee the scene, Pontyjska is apprehended by additional security guards.

At this point, it remains unclear why the Ukrainian woman was detained by the guards. Sawa insists she had a valid ticket for the premiere and did not cause any trouble that could have provoked such a reaction from the security.

I started to run up the stairs because it was the only way back. The security employee tried to push me inside the building so no one could see what she was doing to me. Then she threw me out the back door. The woman added that Cannes allowed the guards to use physical force against guests on the red carpet.

From the documents shared by Pontyjska, we can see that she is demanding 100,000 euros ($107,000) in compensation from the Cannes Film Festival organizers. The model cites "serious injuries" she allegedly endured during the incident. She also mentions a "psychological trauma."

The BBC noted that over the years, the Cannes festival has become known for its strict rules regarding guests on the red carpet. Chris Gardner from the "Hollywood Reporter" emphasized that "usually, the task of security is to keep the flow of traffic moving and ensure all seats are taken before the scheduled start time" of the screening.

The premiere filmmakers, jury members, stars representing the festival sponsors, top actors, and festival veterans have more freedom - added Gardner.