The Cannes Film Festival is under fire after a recent altercation between its security guard and a guest on the red carpet.
Ukrainian model Sawa Pontyjska has filed a lawsuit against the film festival for causing pain and trauma, citing “unreasonable use of physical force” against the plaintiff. bbc reported on Thursday.
The model, who was crowned Miss Europe in 2023, reportedly revealed that she was at the top of the stairs of the Palais des Festival, entering the event when an anonymous guard dragged the model away hugging her at the premiere of Marcello Mio.
“I was trying to escape from this lock. I went down and started running up the stairs because it was the way back. [out]”Pontyjska told the outlet. “She was trying to push me in.[side], so that no one can see what he is doing with me. Then he kicked me out the back door.”
Sawa is asking for 100,000 euros in damages, alleging that the use of physical force caused him “acute pain” and “psychological trauma.”
“[Cannes] allowed guards to use physical force on red carpet guests,” the plaintiff was quoted as saying in the legal documents.
The same guard had also clashed with guests like Kelly Rowland and Massiel Taveras on the red carpet.
Before the lawsuit, Sawa announced his decision to also sue Cannes and shared his plans to find a serious lawyer who is “not afraid” of high-profile cases in a video shared Tuesday on Instagram.
“I always dreamed of participating in the Cannes Film Festival, but then I was surprised by the rudeness and unreasonable use of physical force that I experienced on the red carpet with other international stars. We are preparing to perform all together,” Sawa said in the video. .
The video also contained viral images where the model can be seen struggling to free herself from the guard's grasp. Sawa's knees hit the ground, but she quickly gets up and frees herself before being confronted by more security personnel.
The model also shared full footage of the assault on Instagram which went viral on various social media platforms.
A video of similar treatment of Dominican actress Massiel Taveras for attempting to take photographs on the festival steps on Wednesday also went viral.
