Johnny Depp's Jeanne Du Barry Director Sets the Record Straight About Crew Being 'Afraid' of Actor

Maïwenn is clarifying some comments she made about Johnny Depp, and the crew of their movie Jeanne du Barry being "afraid" of him on set.

In her original comments to The Independent, published Saturday, April 20, the director said of Depp, 60, "It’s difficult to shoot with him ... all the crew were scared because he has a different kind of humor and we didn’t know if he was going to be on time, or if he was going to be okay to say his lines ... I mean, even if he was there on set, on time, the crew were afraid of him.”

Maïwenn, 48, gave a statement to Variety that was published Friday, April 27, in which she set the record straight about what she meant.

“When I made a remark about Johnny being ‘scary,’ I was talking about his charisma, his notoriety, his star status, etc.,” Maïwenn told the outlet, adding of her initial remark, " ... Without its context and subtleties, it absolutely no longer means the same thing."

“I would like to make things very clear: Johnny is ‘scary’ in the sense that his charisma and his status as 'king' is impressive,” she added.

PEOPLE has reached out to The Independent for comment.

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During her interview with the latter outlet, Maïwenn said she cut some of Depp's dialogue from the film but explained of the decision, "There was no time for rehearsals. I asked for time but, for whatever reason, he wasn’t available. ... He had a coach, but he couldn’t work with her beforehand."

"So. Okay. I discovered his accent wasn’t perfect. So a few times I decided to cut his lines. But that also happened with the French actors. It happens!” continued Maïwenn, who is French.

The director said, “There’s been no normal relationship since the shoot." She added, “Johnny for me is a huge genius, but he’s in another world. I cannot communicate with him.”

Jeanne Du Barry had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023. Aside from Depp, it also stars Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Richard, Melvil Poupaud and Pascal Greggory.

The film is about Jeanne Vaubernier (played by Maïwenn, who directed and also co-wrote the script), a "working-class woman determined to climb the social ladder, using her charms to escape her impoverished life." Soon, she has a "love at first sight" moment with King Louis XV (Depp).

Speaking onstage prior to a screening of the film in London earlier this month, Depp said he felt "strangely, oddly, perversely lucky" to have been offered the role of King Louis XV in the film, according to a report from Variety.

"When Maïwenn and I first actually met and talked about the notion of me doing the film and playing Louis XV, the King of France — what happens in your brain is you instantly go back to Kentucky, where, like, everything is fried," he joked. "So you realize that you’ve come from the bellybutton of nowhere, and suddenly you end up playing the King of France."

Depp added, "It made no sense to me; I tried to talk her out of it. But she wasn’t hearing it and she had great courage to take me into her cast."

Jeanne Du Barry is set for release in North America on May 2.