Maiwenn, director and associate of Johnny Depp, was sued for assault

April 8, 2023

The editor-in-chief of Mediapart claims that the director of the Cannes opening film assaulted her in Paris while she was having dinner.

Maïwenn, the French actress and director who won the Cannes Jury Prize for her 2011 drama “Polisse” before rebuilding Johnny Depp’s career with “Jeanne du Barry,” has been sued in France for assault. Edwy Plenel, the editor-in-chief of Mediapart magazine, launched a new lawsuit against the film director (whose official name is Maïwenn Le Besco, but she works under the abbreviated name Maïwenn).

Plenel filed a police report on March 7, alleging that Maïwenn assaulted him in late February while dining at a Paris restaurant. The journalist claims that Maïwenn walked up to his desk unprompted, pulled his hair and spat in his face before storming off. The report states that Plenel is still “traumatized by the incident.” The police report was first reported by the French news portal AFP (via Species).

IndieWire has reached out to representatives of Maïwenn for comment.

Word is that Maïwenn is set to return to the Croisette next month with Jeanne du Barry. His new period piece, in which Depp XV. He plays King Louis of France and opens the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. In addition to directing the film, Maïwenn also plays the king’s eponymous mistress, Jeanne du Barry. The project was one of Depp’s first major acting opportunities following the fall of his infamous defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard. But the shoot was apparently a difficult experience for everyone involved.

As you noted The Daily Beast last year, Depp’s co-star Bernard Montiel said on the French talk show: “Don’t touch my TV!” that the actor often quarreled with Maïwenn on the set.

“I heard some noise from the shoot, very serious stuff,” said Montiel. “So (Depp) is a great actor when he comes on set, except sometimes at six in the morning the crew is ready and no one shows up. So, of course, Maïwenn, who is the director, gets angry, and the next day she is the one who doesn’t show up. And we’ve got Johnny Depp and he’s not there… The week is over, (but) it’s going really, really bad. They don’t come in at all; they are screaming at each other the whole time.

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