Cannes Juror Brie Larson Addresses Johnny Depp's Opening Night Film: 'Don't Know How I Feel About It'
Brie Larson, a jury member for this year's Cannes Film Festival, was asked about Johnny Depp's movie Jeanne Du Barry serving as the opener for the prestigious event
Brie Larson suggested she has conflicted feelings about Johnny Depp's new movie opening the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
The Fast X actress, 33, is a juror for this year's festival in France, alongside Paul Dano, Julia Ducournau, Damián Szifron, Atiq Rahimi, Rungano Nyoni, Denis Ménochet, Maryam Touzani and Triangle of Sadness director Ruben Östlund, who is the jury president.
During the jury press conference on Tuesday, Larson took issue with being asked to answer for Depp's latest project Jeanne Du Barry serving as the opener to the prestigious film festival one year after his controversial trial with ex-wife Amber Heard.
According to Deadline, Larson was framed as an "outspoken advocate for Time's Up" when asked about Depp's inclusion. Larson was on the Time's Up advisory board before it was dissolved in September 2021.
Related:Amber Heard Supporters Protest Cannes Film Festival for Inclusion of Johnny Depp Movie
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"You're asking me that?" the actress responded. "I'm sorry, I don't understand the correlation of why me specifically."
When asked if she planned on at all seeing Jeanne Du Barry (which is not in competition), Larson replied, "I'll see it when I see it. I don't know how I feel about it, frankly."
Cannes Film Festival's chief Thierry Fremaux addressed having Depp's movie open the festival, telling reporters Monday, according to Variety, "I don't know about the image of Johnny Depp in the U.S. 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. So we saw Maïwenn's film and it could have been in competition. She would have been the eighth female director," said Fremaux. "This [controversy] came up once the film was announced at Cannes because everybody knew Johnny had made a film in France … I don't know why she chose him but it's a question you should ask Maïwenn."
"As for the rest, I'm the last person to be able to discuss all this," he added. "If there's one person in this world who didn't find the least interest in this very publicized trial, it's me. I don't know what it's about. I also care about Johnny Depp as an actor."
About Jeanne Du Barry, a source told PEOPLE in April that "filming was challenging, but Johnny is excited about the comeback."
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