Cannes safety guard is SUED by mannequin Sawa Pontyjska

The Cannes red carpet security guard who was filmed clashing with Kelly Rowland and other attendees is being sued by a Ukrainian model, who claims she was ‘brutally’ restrained by the official.

Sawa Pontyjska says she has also filed a legal complaint against organisers of The Cannes Film Festival because of the alleged assault.

Pontyjska, who is a presenter for FashionTV, told BBC News she was trying to enter the premiere of the French film Marcello Mio with a legitimate ticket when she was restrained.

This is the same premiere that Kelly Rowland was attending when she engaged in a spat with the staffer.

Documents posted by the model reveal that she has accused staff of ‘physical assault and psychological damage,’ as well as harm to her reputation, and is seeking 100,000 euros (£85,000) in damages.

Pontyjska posted a video of the altercation to her TikTok page on May 21 and it has already racked up more than 16 million views.

In the video, the model is seen at the top of the stairs to the Palais des Festivals, with the infamous guard putting her arms around her.

There is a struggle between the two as the staff member is seemingly trying to usher her inside, but the model is trying to escape her grasp.

Pontyjska pulled away and dropped to the ground before trying to walk away, back down the steps.

However, she was met with more security guards and taken inside the building.

She told BBC News: ‘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].

‘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.’

The model added that she had a ticket like everyone else and was not doing anything wrong. 

She claims she has since attempted to contact organisers to request an apology but is yet to receive a response. 

In her legal complaint, she says she was ‘violently challenged’ in front of ‘thousands of people,’ causing her ‘acute pain’ and ‘psychological trauma’. 

The now notorious security guard’s first viral run-in was with Rowland, who had been attending the same premiere.

As Kelly made her way up the famous steps, she appeared to engage in a verbal dispute with a member of security after she held up her arm to guide her into the venue.

Footage from the altercation shows a furious Kelly visibly scolding the staff member as she held up her finger to admonish the woman in front of the crowd in attendance.

The security guard appeared to frantically respond to Kelly, who even turned back to continue her tirade as she made her way up the rest of the steps.

Kelly has since spoken out about the incident and claimed there were other women who did not look like her that were treated differently and insisted she was just standing her ground.

‘The woman knows what happened. I know what happened,’ she said. ‘And, I have a boundary. And I stand by those boundaries and that is it.’ 

‘There were other women who attended that carpet, who did not quite look like me, and they didn’t get scolded or pushed off or told to get off.’ 

Just days later, another ugly spat broke out involving the same member of staff and Dominican actress Massiel Taveras.

The star was on the red carpet last weekend, preparing to unfurl a huge gown with a depiction of Jesus on it, but appeared surprised to be stopped by the security guard. 

Footage of the spat showed the actress being stopped by the female security guard who was sticking out her arm.

As other staffers helped lay out the dress while Taveras waved to fans, she grew angry as the security guard kept her arm out in front of her posing.

The two exchanged a few words on the red carpet as staff pulled the train up the stairs before Taveras took the end of the dress from another guard and threw it to the floor in frustration.

The female security guard kept her arm close to Taveras as she escorted her up the stairs, although it is unclear what the reason was for the guard to tail her so closely. 

When she reached the top of the stairs, Taveras – who was previously crowned Miss Dominican Republic and competed at Miss Universe – struggled to unfurl the train of her dress.

This led her to berate the security guard when she tried to step in, throwing her arms up in frustration.

After the dress finally disentangled, Taveras waved to her fans – but the female security guard kept her arm across the actress, and appeared to jostle her towards the entrance.

That move sparked an angry reaction from Taveras as she shoved the security guard away from her, before sticking up her finger and scowling at her.

Most recently, the usher once again came under fire for ‘disrespecting’ Korean actress YoonA by blocking her red carpet photos.

The K-pop star-turned-actress, 33, was preparing to pose for pictures on the iconic red stairs when she was stopped by the security guard. 

Although the actress didn’t express her anger outwardly, her facial expression looked visibly annoyed and uncomfortable as she was rushed off the stairs by the female staffer. 

The usher has not been publicly identified, but she is known to be a local Frenchwoman on a short-term contract with the week-long Festival. 

Following the Kelly Rowland spat, colleagues of the security guard at the center of the Cannes spotlight insisted to DailyMail.com that she was acting appropriately and was ‘only doing her job.’ 

‘She was an usher working under a lot of pressure to keep people on the carpet moving, so as to stop crowds building up,’ said a Festival staff veteran, who has been working in the resort every May for 20 years.

‘There was no pushing or shoving, or scolding,’ he said. ‘Security and safety are the priorities, along with keeping to strict timetables set according to contracts – even the celebrities have to stick to the rules.

‘Lots of ushers are involved, and they always act professionally and with politeness.

‘In this case, the usher was certainly only doing her job – she didn’t do anything wrong.’

According to the BBC, festival organisers have not responded to requests for comment.