Johnny Depp Attends Controversial Festival Opening Amidst Debate Over Director Kahn's Sexual Assault Allegations

76th Cannes Film Festival Opening Ceremony Held
Opening Film 'Jandubari' Marks Johnny Depp's Return
Sexual Assault Offender Festival vs. Freedom Within Legal Boundaries

Johnny Depp [Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News]

The Cannes Film Festival, boasting unparalleled prestige, has drawn the curtain on its 76th edition. Following the opening ceremony, the festival kicked off grandly with the screening of the opening film.

On the 16th (local time), at 7 p.m., the 76th Cannes Film Festival opened at the Lumi?re Theater in the southern French city of Cannes, where Johnny Depp, the lead actor of the opening film 'Jeanne du Barry,' became the center of attention.

Johnny Depp married actress Amber Heard in 2015 and divorced in August 2016. Subsequently, Amber Heard claimed in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post that she was a victim of domestic abuse by Johnny Depp.

Afterwards, Depp engaged in a legal battle with his ex-wife Amber Heard in the U.S. last year. He won a defamation lawsuit against Heard in the United States. However, in a defamation trial in the UK regarding The Sun's 2018 description of him as a 'wife-beater,' the UK court ruled that the claim was "substantially true." Following this, he was removed from the 'Fantastic Beasts' series.

When news broke that he would attend the Cannes Film Festival as the opening film actor, Ad?le Haenel, who starred in the film 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire,' criticized, saying, "Cannes Film Festival celebrates sexual offenders."

Previously, the Cannes Film Festival was also criticized for awarding the Palme d'Or to director Roman Polanski in 2002, who was embroiled in controversy over child sexual abuse allegations.

[Photo by AP·Yonhap News]

At a press conference held the day before the opening, Thierry Fr?maux, the festival's executive director, addressed the ongoing debate about Johnny Depp walking the Cannes red carpet for 'Jeanne du Barry.'

Fr?maux asked reporters, "Do you really think Cannes is a festival for rapists?" He added, "If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting or if the film had been banned from release, we wouldn't even be talking about 'Jeanne du Barry' here."

He defended the decision by stating, "Freedom of thought and freedom of expression and action within the bounds of the law are our rules."

Johnny Depp marked his return by attending the official screening of the opening film 'Jeanne du Barry' at the Cannes Film Festival on the 16th. He appeared with his hair tied back and dressed in a black suit. His appearance on the red carpet has sparked various reactions.

Meanwhile, the Cannes Film Festival, which has opened, will run for 12 days, featuring seven Korean films invited for screening. Actors Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Song Joong-ki, Ju Ji-hoon, Kim Hee-won, Im Soo-jung, and Oh Jung-se will attend.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.