French director whose new Cannes film stars Johnny Depp admits spitting in journalist’s face
- Actress and director Maiwenn Le Besco will be starring alongside Johnny Depp
- Edwy Plenel claims Ms Besco cocked back her head before spitting in his face
A French actress and filmmaker, who will be directing and co-starring in Johnny Depp’s Cannes comeback film, has admitted to spitting in the face of journalist.
Actress Maiwenn Le Besco, 47, confirmed in an interview that she had spit in the face of an investigative journalist and founder of the website that published a scandalous story exposing her ex-husband for allegedly raping several women.
Edwy Plenel, founder of investigative news site Mediapart, claimed that while dining out at a restaurant in Paris, Ms Besco approached his table before cocking back her head and spitting directly in his face.
Ms Besco, who is known mononymously as Maïwenn, confirmed that she had assaulted Mr Plenel in an interview on French talk show Quotidien.
When asked if she had spit at the journalist, Maïwenn said: ‘Do I confirm that I assaulted him?’
Ms Besco (pictured), who is known mononymously as Maïwenn, confirmed that she had assaulted Mr Plenel in an interview on French talk show Quotidien
Johnny Depp’s new film (pictured) will be opening the influential Cannes film festival this year and is the first indication of his film career getting back track after the drama-filled court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard (Pictured: Maïwenn and Johnny Depp on set)
The director admitted she had spat in the face of journalist Edwy Plenel (pictured)
After a long silence, Maïwenn admitted: ‘Yes’.
But the French filmmaker said that now was ‘not the time’ to discuss the incident because she was ‘very anxious’ about the release of her new film.
She added: ‘I’ll speak about it when I’m ready.
In his formal complaint against the actress, Mr Plenel wrote that the attack was ‘damaging on a moral and psychological level’ and he was left feeling ‘very traumatised’.
In 2018, Mediapart reported that several women had come forward to accuse Maïwenn’s ex-husband and filmmaker Luc Besson of rape and sexual assault.
Besson, who directed the 1995 film Leon, met the actress when she was only 12 years-old, marrying her when she was 16 when he was 31.
Leon, which was also written by Besson, portrayed Natalie Portman as a 12-year-old Lolita figure under the guardianship of a much older man, who infamously performs a sexually proactive dance to Madonna’s Like a Virgin while wearing a bra and white shorts.
Maïwenn described the film as a ‘love story between a 12-year-old girl and a 30-year-old man [that] was still very much inspired by ours.’
Last year, French prosecutors dropped a series of rape allegations made against Mr Besson because of a lack of evidence.
Actress Maiwenn Le Besco (pictured), 47, confirmed in an interview that she had spit in the face of an investigative journalist and founder of the website that published a scandalous story exposing her ex-husband for allegedly raping several women
Besson (pictured), who directed the 1995 film Leon, met Maïwenn when she was only 12 years-old, marrying her when she was 16 when he was 31
The 1995 film Leon, which was written by Besson, portrayed Natalie Portman (pictured) as a 12-year-old Lolita figure under the guardianship of a much older man
The pair divorced in 1997 but Maïwenn has remained friends with Mr Besson, who is also the father of one of her children.
Maïwenn, who has been a vocal critic of the #MeToo movement, suggested that ‘women abused by men are often fragile women,’ in an interview with French magazine Paris Match.
She also accused feminists of being ‘women who do not like men’.
In the interview with Paris match, she added: ‘Now, me, if I agree to go to a man’s room at 1am, I suspect that it is not to talk about a role.’
Depp’s new film will be opening the influential Cannes film festival this year and is the first indication of his film career getting back track after the drama-filled court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.
The Hollywood A-lister will be playing French king Louis XV in a historic biopic detailing the life of Jeanne du Barry, who will be played by Maïwenn.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star was left disgraced following intimate, and often disturbing, revelations about their abusive marriage with Heard during the trial.
Last year, gossip spread that his co-star and on-screen love interest played by Maïwenn, who is also directing the film, had a turbulent relationship on-set after Depp repeatedly turned up late.
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