Johnny Depp Gets Standing Ovation at Cannes Film Festival Opening Night

Johnny Depp still has France’s heart.

The actor made quite a comeback during opening night of the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, receiving a seven-minute standing ovation at the premiere of his new movie “Jeanne du Barry.”

The festival marks the first public appearance for Depp since his 2022 legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard. Per Variety, Johnny tried to hold back his tears as the audience eagerly applauded him for his portrayal of King Louis XV.

Thousands of supportive fans welcomed the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star in Cannes, carrying posters and creating shrines outside the Palais, according to Variety. Johnny reportedly spent a few minutes with them signing autographs before stepping onto the festival’s famous red carpet.

The movie is Depp’s first major role since his highly publicized defamation case with Heard. Johnny filed the lawsuit against his ex, claiming that she had falsely implied he was abusive toward her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed about domestic abuse survivors. The jury found in favor of Depp, agreeing that it was defamation when Heard called him an abuser — though not by name — in the piece.

During Tuesday’s press conference, actress Brie Larson, who sits on this year’s Cannes Film Festival jury, appeared shocked when asked how she felt about Johnny’s film opening the festival and whether she planned on seeing it, reported The Independent.

“You’re asking me that? I’m sorry, I don’t understand the correlation or why me specifically,”she replied.

The journalist clarified that he was asking up the Oscar winner because of her advocacy for the Time’s Up movement.

“Understood,” Brie acknowledged. “Well, you’ll see, I guess, if I see it, and I don’t know how I’ll feel about it if I do.”

Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux addressed Johnny’s presence ahead of opening night, telling reporters his focus is on the work, per Variety.

“I don’t know about the image of Johnny Depp in the U.S. I only have one rule: It’s the freedom of thinking, and the freedom of speech and acting with 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,” Thierry said.

“This [controversy] came up once the film was announced at Cannes because everybody knew Johnny had made a film in France,” Thierry went on to say at the press conference. “As for the rest, I’m the last person to be able to discuss all this. If there’s one person in this world who didn’t find the least interest in this very publicized trial, it’s me. I also care about Johnny Depp as an actor.”

“Jeanne du Barry” tells the story of a working-class 18th-century woman in France — Jeanne Vaubernier — who rises in the ranks and becomes King Louis XV’s lover, which also makes her a pariah in the king’s court.