Johnny Depp Tears Up During Standing Ovation After Cannes Film Festival Screening

Jeanne Du Barry’s Tuesday premiere at the festival marks the actor’s first major on-screen role since his controversial defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard.

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The 2023 Cannes Film Festival left Johnny Depp full of emotions.

The opening night of the international film festival on Tuesday marked the premiere of the actor’s French-language film, Jeanne Du Barry, in which he stars as Louis XV, the King of France from September 1715 until his death in 1774, opposite director Maïwenn.

Maïwenn plays Jeanne du Barry, a working-class woman who “uses her intelligence and allure to climb the rungs of the social ladder one by one.”

She eventually “becomes the favorite of King Louis XV, who, unaware of her status as a courtesan,” regains his appetite for life, Variety reports.

Following the screening, the film received a seven-minute standing ovation from the crowd, which, according to a clip from the screening shared by Variety, left Depp, 59, tearing up with emotion.

While the film does not have a U.S. release date yet, its premiere at the festival comes nearly one year after the verdict in Depp’s controversial defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard over a 2018 op-ed she wrote about coming forward with domestic abuse allegations.

While supporters of Heard spoke out on social media about the film’s inclusion at the festival, Cannes Film Festival’s chief Thierry Fremaux addressed having Depp’s movie open the festival while speaking to reporters Monday.

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“I don’t know about the image of Johnny Depp in the U.S. To tell you the truth, in my life, I only have one rule, it’s the freedom of thinking and the freedom of speech and acting within a legal framework,” said Fremaux.

“If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a film or the film was banned, we wouldn’t be here talking about it.

So we saw Maïwenn’s film, and it could have been in competition. She would have been the eighth female director,” continued Fremaux.

“This [controversy] came up once the film was announced at Cannes because everybody knew Johnny had made a film in France…

I don’t know why she chose him, but it’s a question you should ask Maïwenn.”.