How Johnny Depp became the anti-#MeToo ambassador.

As Johnny Depp entered the theatre ahead of his film screening at the Cannes Film Festival, the crowd was on its feet.

They stood again afterwards, when the showing of French filmmaker Maïwenn's new project Jeanne du Barry wrapped up, applauding the stars for seven minutes.

According to reporters in the room, Depp held back tears as the crowd clapped for his 'comeback' performance as King Louis XV in the biographical drama, which opened this year's festival. He waved to audiences in the balcony and according to Variety, seemed taken aback by the response.

He needn't have been.

Earlier in the night, Depp had arrived on the red carpet in the South of France to similar fanfare.

Thousands of fans lined outside the Palais des Festivals, cheering and trembling as they caught glimpses of the 59-year-old actor. Depp, flanked by security, signed autographs and posed for pictures for more than five minutes before walking the carpet.

As he did, a sign reading 'Viva Johnny' hung from a balcony above the street, and crowds continued to shout his name over and over, The Hollywood Reporter noted.

All the hoopla was at odds with the critical reception for Jeanne du Barry, with initial reviews published soon after offering scattered rather than rapturous applause.

Variety described Depp's performance as being "adequate but not especially engaged". The Hollywood Reporter said he "offers a few early thrills and then mostly yawns, with Depp dishing out what feels like a total of a dozen lines in respectable French, while otherwise remaining mute", while Indiewire said he "leaves a strangely scant impression, offering a dim and muted turn".

Overall, the vibe was 'fine', which is better than 'bad', but wouldn't normally bode well for a shiny Hollywood comeback.

However, Depp could've delivered the worst performance of his life in Jeanne du Barry and it wouldn't have mattered, because his acting isn't what is driving his return to film.

Image: Getty.

Jeanne du Barry is his first major role since his 2022 defamation trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.

The legal dispute arose from an article written by Amber Heard for The Washington Post in 2018, in which she discussed her experience with domestic abuse without explicitly mentioning Depp's name. Depp claimed that the article implied he was the perpetrator of the abuse and sought $50 million in damages.

For six weeks, every moment of the face-off in a Virginia courtroom was broadcast, dissected and disseminated on social media, until a jury awarded Depp a total of US$15 million in damages, and Heard US$2 million for her counterclaim.

Their camps settled in December.

Watch this segment about Johnny Depp's defamation court case from the Project below. Article continues after video. 

Over the course of the trial, support for Depp became inescapable. People watched it like it was an epic television series, and Depp was cast as the loveable main character. Each day, diehard fans would surround the courthouse and chant. Anyone who wasn't in Virginia could simply open up the internet any way they'd like to follow along — from #JusticeForJohnny trending on Twitter, to live blogs on traditional media homepages, to fan edits on TikTok.

Supporters ignored evidence that suggested Depp wasn't the stand-up guy who was framed by an evil woman, like messages where he said he wanted to drown Heard before burning her before desecrating her corpse.

The evidence that came out of the trial was disturbing, to put it mildly. But the enormous tsunami rolling across the internet only cared if it implicated Heard.

The Team Johnny movement was swift and it was terrifying for anyone not riding the wave, but it was a real-life example of something an alarming amount of people had been quietly thinking.

While Depp was praised and horrifying vitriol was directed at Heard, the trial — and Depp, as its 'hero' — represented something bigger: it was a rejection of the culture shift that had slowly taken place in the preceding years, spurred by movements like #MeToo and Time's Up, that saw an increasing amount of women feel comfortable to speak up about things like abuse, harassment, and misogyny.

The hate was directed at Heard, but really, it felt like it was meant for all women. They called her names, but the message to all of us was really 'sit down and shut up'.

Misogyny (much of it internal, as women online not only supported but coddled or thirsted over Depp) was not going to loosen it's grip that easily.

Listen to Mamamia Out Loud discuss Johnny Depp below. Article continues after podcast. 

People had been claiming that '#MeToo had gone too far' for a while. 'Can't a guy even say hello to a woman anymore,' they'd whine. 'No one can take a compliment anymore'. 

In Depp, who played up his loveable roguish Pirates of the Caribbean character Jack Sparrow, they found their 'proof'.

At the end of the trial, his supporters rejoiced about the 'death of #MeToo'.

Depp's fandom was a warning that actually, a man's career and reputation still matters far more than a woman's safety. How dare we think otherwise?

This is why, after the trial, Depp is still working, and not just in this new film.

In August last year, he made a bizarre, seconds-long appearance as a hologram moon man at the VMAs.

In November, he modeled in Rihanna's annual Savage X Fenty runway show.

Just a week ago, Variety published details of his new three-year deal worth US$20 million, to remain the face of Dior Sauvage. It is the biggest men's fragrance deal ever.

Depp's built-in, highly engaged fanbase, are there for anything the man touches. Because even if he's not delivering great performances, or being professional on set, or just, uh, a decent person, his success is a win for the status quo.

His success is a win for those who are threatened by women feeling like they can speak up or demand equality.

Whether the companies like or support that world view is irrelevant when the guaranteed support of a fanbase willing to show up and spend their money is on offer.

'Cancellations', as the culture likes to call them, are never really permanent, unless of course the person in question is set to spend the rest of their lives in prison, like Harvey Weinstein. And 'cancellations' are non-existent if you have a built-in audience. 

Depp's performance in Jeanne du Barry is nothing to write home about, apparently. Unfortunately, there are thousands of people who will pay to see the film — and will probably tell you otherwise.

Feature image: Getty.