Amber Heard fans have expressed their disappointment with the Cannes Film Festival for opening with a new Johnny Depp movie. They are unhappy with the verdict and the fact that Depp is rebuilding his career while Heard has been forced into exile far from Hollywood. With the imminent premiere of Jeanne Du Barry, the film that will open the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, a campaign has emerged on social networks accusing the event of celebrating abusers.

Critics of the festival have used the hashtag #CannesYouNot to describe the festival as “celebrating abusers for 76 years”. Journalist Eve Barlow shared a series of photos on her social networks with men who have been accused of harassment or abuse and have been “prominently present” at the event, including Johnny Depp. Barlow is a close friend of Amber Heard and supports her unconditionally.

The campaign is being spread among pro-Amber Heard Twitter accounts, such as @LeaveHeardAlone, whose creator says that most of the people who support the campaign are survivors of abuse. They consider that the Depp vs. Heard saga was “heartbreaking and terrifying” as it served as #MeToo critics to viralize their hatred of the movement.

The president of the Cannes Film Festival, Thierry Fremaux, said at a press conference that it is not true that they support abusers, and about Jeanne Du Barry he declared: “I don’t know about the image of Johnny Depp in the United States. To tell the truth, in my life, I only have one rule, it is the freedom to think, and the freedom of expression and action within a legal framework… If Johnny Depp was banned from acting in a movie, or the movie was prohibited, we would not be here talking about that.”

Heard accused Depp of domestic violence by spreading photographs of his face with bruises in 2016, and after the divorce the conflict seemed to have come to an end, but in December 2018 the actress published a column in The Washington Post titled “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change”. Although she didn’t mention it by his name, everyone knew she was talking about Depp, and in the caption she accused him of sexual violence, something she hadn’t done before. This was decisive in the verdict of the 2022 trial.

Jeanne du Barry is written, directed and stars Maïwenn, and is about the favorite mistress of King Louis XV, who is played by Depp.