Sued at Cannes: Miss Europe 2023 Takes Legal Action Against Security Guard Who Had Heated Confrontation With Kelly Rowland
Sawa Pontyjska is taking legal action against the security guard who had the viral confrontation with Kelly Rowland.
May 31 2024, Published 12:54 p.m. ET
Miss Europe 2023 is taking legal action against the security guard who faced Kelly Rowland's wrath at the Cannes Film Festival. Ukrainian model-turned-television presenter Sawa Pontyjska filed a legal complaint against the female official, alleging the woman "brutally" restrained her on the same red carpet as Rowland, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Pontyjska also claimed she filed a legal complaint against the organizers of the movie festival over the alleged assault.
Pontyjska accused the staffer of "physical assault and psychological damage."
The model disclosed her legal battle with BBC News, explaining she had a legitimate ticket to the French film Marcello Mio's premiere and was allegedly restrained when trying to enter. Documents reveal Pontyjska accused the staffer of "physical assault and psychological damage," and claimed the guard harmed her reputation.
She's seeking 100,000 euros ($108,769.50) in damages.
Pontyjska posted the altercation to her social media, showing the same security guard who hassled Rowland, physically restraining her from entering the building. The woman had both arms around the model as she struggled to get out of the official's grasp.
At one point, Pontyjska slipped out of the guard's bear hug only to be apprehended by another individual.
“I was trying to escape from this lock. I went down and I started to run away on the stairs because it was the way back [out],” Pontyjska explained to the BBC. “She was trying to push me in[side], so nobody can see what she’s doing with me. Then she kicked me out through the back door.”
Following the confrontation, Pontyjska took to social media and begged for help while threatening to sue the guard and the bosses behind the Cannes Film Festival.
“I always dreamed of getting into the Cannes Film Festival, but then I was shocked about rudeness and unreasonable use of physical force, which I experienced on the red carpet with other international stars,” she claimed in the clip. On Thursday, she shared another TikTok video showing the documents from her lawsuit against Cannes.
As this outlet reported, the security guard made headlines last week when Rowland appeared to lose her cool after being repeatedly ushered up the stars and away from photographers. The Mea Culpa actress snapped her neck and pointed her finger at the security woman's face. Rowland wasn't the only celebrity the female official got in a heated confrontation with.
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"She doesn't care if she comes across like a diva if she knows that she is advocating for herself," said an insider.
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After her incident with Rowland went viral, the same security guard was seen getting into an altercation with Dominican TV host Massiel Taveras and K-pop star Im Yoon-ah. Rowland addressed the incident, telling the Associated Press, “There were other women that attended that carpet who did not quite look like me and they didn’t get scolded or pushed off or told to get off. I stood my ground and she felt like she had to stand hers."
She continued, “The woman knows what happened, I know what happened. I have a boundary and I stand by those boundaries, and that is it.”
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