Johnny Depp was seen getting visibly emotional as his new film Jeanne du Barry received a seven-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday May 16.
The French-speaking film directed by Maïwenn was controversially chosen to open the festival this year.
“Johnny Depp cries as #Cannes2023 showers him with a seven-minute standing ovation at the premiere of ‘Jeanne du Barry’,” Ramin Setoodeh, co-editor of Varietytweeted from the Côte d’Azur event accompanied by a video.
In the clip, Depp, 59, brings his hands up to his face before hugging the director.
Cannes director Thierry Fremaux has received backlash for the decision to open the festival with Depp’s film due to allegations made against him by his ex-wife Amber Heard during their high-profile defamation trial last year.
Depp ultimately won the case after a jury found Heard defamed him by implying he assaulted her in a 2018 Washington Post editorial.
“We only know one thing and that is the justice system and I think they won the case,” Fremaux said in response to criticism.
Jeanne DuBarry tells the story of Jeanne Vaubernier, the mistress of King Louis XV. Director Maïwenn – who also stars in the film – was also embroiled in controversy after admitting to assaulting a journalist.
Mediapart the editor-in-chief of the magazine Edwy Plenel filed a complaint with the police on March 7, accusing Maïwenn of having spat in his face while he was dining at the restaurant.
“I don’t know Maïwenn, I’ve never met her. I would have been unable to recognize her,” Plenel said. Variety on Tuesday, adding: “This assault has caused more stupor than anything else.”
Meanwhile, Cannes juror Brie Larson was surprised when a reporter asked her what she thought of Jeanne du Barry opening of the festival.
Depp has not been cast in a major American film since his 2018 lawsuit against The sun, which he lost after a British court ruled that the tabloid’s description of him as a “wife beater” was “essentially true”.