Maïwenn, Johnny Depp’s ‘Jeanne du Barry’ Director, Sued for Assault

Maïwenn, who directed the forthcoming film Jeanne du Barry starring Johnny Depp, has been sued by Mediapart magazine editor-in-chief Edwy Plenel. The journalist claimed in a police complaint reviewed by Variety that the French director used aggression against him while eating at a restaurant in Paris in February.

According to Plenel, Maïwenn approached him at the restaurant and spit in his face after grabbing him by the hair. The news outlet AFP quoted the police complaint in saying Plenel found himself “traumatized by the incident.” Maïwenn allegedly left the scene without speaking a word to Plenel following the assault.

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The police report was filed a month ago, but leaked on Friday. Mediapart, under Plenel’s direction, has not explicitly investigated Maïwenn. It did, however, publish the first testimony of Belgian-Dutch actor Sand Van Roy accusing Maïwenn’s ex-husband director Luc Besso of sexual assault — the case was later dropped.

Maïwenn stars alongside Depp in Jeanne du Barry, his official acting comeback following his legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard. The film will premiere at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival on opening night. It also marks Maïwenn’s sixth feature film and follows the relationship between French king Louis XV and his lover, Jeanne du Barry, who she portrays in the film.

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