Johnny Depp received a seven-minute standing ovation at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, despite backlash about his appearance.
After the premiere of the French biographical drama “Jeanne Du Barry” was held on Tuesday’s opening night of the event, Variety said that attendees will celebrate King XV.
At the start of the debut, Depp held back tears as he waved to the applauding audience from the theater balcony.
Maïwenn, the film’s director and star who plays the king’s lover, cried into the microphone, “I want to share this moment with my sweetheart, my producer, and Le Pacte. It was a difficult production to finance… and I want to share this moment with my entire team at the theatre.”
While hundreds of fans showed up with supportive signs to Southern France’s annual film festival, not everyone was happy to see 59-year-old Depp there.
The trip marked the Oscar nominee’s first public appearance since the highly publicized defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, who accused him of harassment.
The jury mostly sided with Depp last summer, but the 37-year-old actress’s friends still support her.
In fact, journalist Eve Barlow, a close friend of the “Aquaman” star with whom she now lives in Spain, scolded those responsible for their “past”. [of] supporting rapists and abusers,” he adds, “#CannesYouNot.”
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Cannes director Thierry Frémaux, however, defended his decision to include Depp in the festival and start with his film, admitting that he didn’t mind the actor’s legal troubles.
“I don’t know the image of Johnny Depp in the US,” he said at a press conference, according to Deadline. “To tell the truth, I have only one rule in my life: freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom to act within the legal framework.
“We wouldn’t be talking about it here if Johnny Depp was banned from acting in a movie, or if the movie was banned.”
Frémaux continued: “If anyone has not shown the slightest interest in this widely publicized case, it’s me.
“I don’t know what it’s about. As an actor, I also care about Johnny Depp.