Johnny Depp has made plenty of headlines over the last year because of his defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard after she penned an essay for The Washington Post about experiencing domestic violence.
Depp hasn’t been seen on the big screen since 2020’s “Minamata,” but his new movie “Jeanne du Barry” premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, and was met with a huge reaction from the audience.
The film sees the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star play France’s King Louis XV, who falls in love with a working-class woman, Jeanne du Barry (Maïwenn).
In a video shared by Variety, Depp was brou ght to tears when the Cannes audience gave the French-language film a seven-minute standing ovation.
Depp appeared thankful for the applause, before hugging actor and director Maïwenn, who stood next to him.
There’s been plenty of criticism online over Depp stepping back into the spotlight after the controversial trial, and Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux briefly touched on the topic when speaking to reporters (via People).
Fremaux said: “I don’t know about the image of Johnny Depp in the US 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.
“If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a film or the film was banned, we wouldn’t be here talking about it.”
