Johnny Depp was seen getting visibly emotional as his new film Jeanne du Barry received a seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday (16 May).

The French-language film directed by Maïwenn was controversially chosen to open the festival this year.

“Johnny Depp tears up as #Cannes2023 showers him with a seven-minute standing ovation at the premiere of ‘Jeanne du Barry,” Ramin Setoodeh, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Variety, tweeted from the French Riviera event alongside a video.



In the clip, Depp, 59, holds his hands to his face before hugging the director.

Cannes director Thierry Fremaux has received backlash for the decision to open the festival with Depp’s movie due to the allegations made against him by his ex-wife Amber Heard in their highly publicised defamation trial last year.

Depp ultimately won the trial after a jury found that Heard had defamed him by implying he had abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed.





“We only know one thing, it’s the justice system and I think he won the legal case,” Fremaux said in response to the criticism.

Jeanne Du Barry tells the story of King Louis XV’s mistress Jeanne Vaubernier. The director Maïwenn – who also stars in the film – has also been embroiled in controversy after admitting to assaulting a journalist.

Mediapart magazine editor-in-chief Edwy Plenel filed a police complaint on 7 March, which accused Maïwenn of spitting in his face while he was dining at a restaurant.

“I don’t know Maïwenn, I never met her. I would have been unable to recognize her,” Plenel told Variety on Tuesday, adding: “This aggression caused more stupor than anything else.”

watch the video