He arrived nearly 45 minutes late and insisted he’s not having a comeback, but at one of the first press conferences of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Johnny Depp continued to be, undeniably, the focus of the entire festival.

Opening-night film Jeanne du Barry, which premiered Tuesday night, stars Depp as French king Louis XV, in his first major role since he was at the center of a 2022 defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Depp won the case; Heard won one count in her countersuit. Both appealed the counts they had lost, but dropped their appeals after reaching a settlement.

The six-week trial revealed disturbing details about their relationship as the ex-couple hurled accusations of abuse against each other.

The selection of Jeanne du Barry raised eyebrows from the moment it was announced in April, and the questions continued as the festival began this week.

At the opening press conference, the festival’s director, Thierry Frémaux, defended the choice. “I don’t know about the image of Johnny Depp in the US,” he said.

“I care about Johnny Depp as an actor.” At the jury press conference, jury member Brie Larson, who has been an advocate for abuse survivors, was asked about her stance on the film’s inclusion. “You’ll see, I guess, if I see it. And I don’t know how I’ll feel about it if I do,” she said.

On Wednesday, it was finally time for Depp to face the press, along with his cast and French director Maïwenn, who helmed the historical drama.

But anticlimactically, the press conference was delayed by about 25 minutes, and eventually Maïwenn and the cast took the stage without Depp. The director insisted he would join them soon.

Maïwenn was asked about her decision to cast Depp, an American, as a French king. She said that she had at first gone to several French actors, but the deals hadn’t worked out.

And when she met with Depp, she learned that he was very familiar with French history and culture. “When I met him, it seemed like a very obvious choice,” she said in French. “I really fell in love with him in this part.”

Maïwenn also stars as the titular character who climbs the social ladder and has an affair with the king. “I wanted to feel strongly about the actor,” she added. “The truth is I would be hugging and kissing him later on.”

The room was astir when Depp finally arrived, around 42 minutes after the conference was supposed to start. He admitted that the “circus” part of the Cannes Film Festival—meaning the drama and controversy that often comes with the experience—has been the most difficult for him.

“But the fact is we’re all here because we made a film—not because we have a product to sell,” he said. “The majority of what you have been reading for the past five or six years is fantastically, horrifically written fiction.”

He also commented on the fact that he hasn’t had a job on a Hollywood production since his legal controversies began a few years ago.

“When you’re asked to resign from the film that you’re doing because of something that is merely a bunch of vowels and consonants floating in the air, yeah, you feel boycotted,” he said.

“Do I feel boycotted now? No, not at all. I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood because I don’t think about Hollywood. I don’t have much further need for Hollywood.”

Maïwenn said there was never any pushback from Netflix, who partially backed the film and will distribute in France, about casting Depp. (The film is currently seeking US distribution.)

She also claims not to care about pushback from anyone else, either, and said she also has not been paying attention to the response to his casting.

“I don’t know what people are saying,” she said. “What remains very important is to remain very faithful to what one wants to do….

Maybe negative things are being said about the film. I think all sorts of rubbish is being said. But that’s what happens in Cannes.”

Depp’s return to film after his legal issues for the past few years has been described as a comeback, but the actor isn’t a fan of that label. “I’ve had about 17 comebacks, apparently,” he said.

“I keep wondering about the word comeback because I didn’t go anywhere…. Maybe people stopped calling out of whatever their fear was at the time. But no, I didn’t go nowhere. I’ve been sitting around.”