Maïwenn, the director of the Johnny Depp starrer Jeanne du Barry, has clarified her previous comment where she said that the Pirates actor scared the movie’s crew while on set.
Her previous interview was with The Independent.
When the interview was published, the headline read that director Maïwenn was “scared” of Depp.
While the headline of the interview read, “The crew were afraid of him,” the full quote stated, “I have to be honest. It’s difficult to shoot with him (Depp)… all the crew were scared because he has a different kind of humor and we didn’t know if he was going to be on time, or if he was going to be OK to say his lines… I mean, even if he was there on set, on time, the crew were afraid of him.”
While the original interview is lengthy and goes into detail about the environment on the sets of Jeanne du Barry, painting a picture of what it was like to be working with Depp, the major takeaway was that everyone was walking on eggshells around the three-time Oscar nominee.
Now, in a new interview with Variety, Maïwenn cleared up the confusion around her statement to The Independent and said that nothing about Depp’s behavior on set scared anyone.
She explained, “When I made a remark about Johnny being ‘scary’, I was talking about his charisma, his notoriety, his star status. I was shocked when I discovered that the newspaper had headlined that ‘The crew were afraid of Johnny Depp’ because written like that, and without its context and subtleties, it absolutely no longer means the same thing. The journalist didn’t want to grasp the subtlety of my words.”
Maïwenn continued, “I’d like to make things very clear: Johnny is ‘scary’ in the sense that his charisma and his status as “king” is impressive. I should have used the word ‘impressive’ if I had known Charlotte O’Sullivan (The Independent journalist) would use my words in such a malicious way.”
Jeanne du Barry, which will release in North America on 2 May 2024, is directed, co-written, and produced by Maïwenn, who also stars in the lead role opposite Depp.
It’s about Madame du Barry, a commoner who becomes the mistress and favorite of King Louis XV. The French film had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
See Also: Fans Can’t Wait To Watch Johnny Depp As King Louis XV After Photos From ‘Jeanne Du Barry’ Go Viral
