Jeanne Du Barry Director Takes A U-Turn After Calling Johnny Depp 'Scary': He Is One Of Greatest

Maiwenn made quite the statement in a recent interview with Charlotte O’Sullivan, in which she outlined the face of her upcoming release, Jeanne du Barry, Johnny Depp, as 'scary' - except, she didn't. The filmmaker, in a new interview, has now asserted how her words were entirely taken out of context and contorted to present a sentiment she never expressed.

Maiwenn asserts she was intentionally misconstrued

Following the fiasco her interview with Charlotte O'Sullivan stoked quite the controversy, Maiwenn sat down for yet another chat, this time with Variety. The filmmaker went into detail about what she actually meant when she referred to Depp's aura as scary. She said, "When I made a remark about Johnny being 'scary,' I was talking about his charisma, his notoriety, his star status, etc. and was shocked when I discovered that the newspaper had headlined that 'The crew was afraid of (Johnny Depp)'...it absolutely no longer means the same thing."

The filmmaker also called out O'Sullivan in particular. Her bone of contention with the journalist was the alleged attempt by the latter to add a "malicious" twang to the complex statement she had made. Maiwenn went on, "The journalist did not want to grasp the subtlety of my words...I should have used the word 'impressive' if I had known Charlotte O’Sullivan would use my words in such a malicious way."

Maiwenn compares Johnny Depp's brilliance to that of Marlon Brando's

Doubling down on how highly she thinks of Johnny, Maiwenn compared his aura on set to that of yesteryear superstar, Marlon Brando. She further reiterated that while the two may have had their creative differences on sets, she still holds the actor in high esteem. 

She said, "I want to be very clear - Johnny Depp is a huge actor. One of the greatest. He reminded me a lot of Brando - his genius and sufferings, his generosity and paradoxes. Even though we argued several times on set, he’s someone I totally respect and admire." Jeanne du Barry is set for a theatrical release on May 16.