Cannes Film Festival director responds to backlash over including Johnny Depp's film

Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux has responded to backlash for including Johnny Depp's new film in the event.

Last week, actor Adele Haenel slammed Cannes as a festival 'celebrating rapists' in an open letter published in Telerama, according to Variety.

Haenel, who quit acting in 2020 after Roman Polanski was given the award for Best Director at the Ceasar Awards, said the festival was 'ready to do anything to defend their rapist chiefs'.

However, the festival's director said these comments were 'false' and 'radical' during a press conference on the film's opening night.

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“She didn’t think that when she came to Cannes unless she suffered from a crazy dissonance,” Fremaux said of Haenel, who attended the festival in 2018, as per Variety.

He added: "But if you thought that it’s a festivals for rapists, you wouldn’t be here listening to me, you would not be complaining that you can’t get tickets to get into screenings.”

The Cannes chief also addressed the backlash of including the film, Jeanne du Barry that stars Johnny Depp as French King Louis XV, in the festival's program.

“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,” said Fremaux.

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He continued: "If there’s one person in this world who didn’t find the least interest in this very publicised trial, it’s me. I don’t know what it’s about. I also care about Johnny Depp as an actor.”

Jeanne du Barry marks the first film of Depp's to be released since winning his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard.

However, this isn't the only time his appearance amid his legal woes has ruffled a few feathers.

In 2021, the Edwood actor appeared at the Deauville American Film Festival after losing his libel case against British tabloid The Sun, which described him as a 'wife beater'.

Yahoo! News reported that when asked about inviting the actor to the event, the festival’s artistic director Bruno Barde said: “Justice is where I draw the line.

"If someone is condemned, I don’t invite that person, even if I don’t agree with the ruling.

"But if there hasn’t been a conviction, I’m not going to act as a judge, and neither should social media.”