Johnny Depp has had possibly the most difficult few years of his long and distinguished career, but it seems the Pirates of the Caribbean actor is returning with a bang.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that fans were debating whether we’d ever see Depp in another big on-screen production. Last year at this time, he was embroiled in a high-profile legal fight with his ex-wife, Amber Heard, while all kinds of private relationships were made public.

After winning his defamation lawsuit, the actor set his sights on making up for lost time and revenue by returning to filmmaking, and he appeared at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this week to promote his new feature, Jeanne Du Barry.

Though the preceding few years must have been a roller coaster of emotions for the 59-year-old, he will have awoken today in high spirits after the event was a great success.

According to accounts, admirers yelled Depp’s name as he walked down the red carpet at the Palais, and one lady was claimed to have broken down in tears in an effort to get his attention.

What transpired inside the theater, however, is what is making headlines today, when Depp was welcomed with a very emotional response as he came in with Jeanne Du Barry director Mawenn.

The crowd greeted the two with wild cheers and a standing ovation. According to Variety, it lasted seven minutes, with Depp apparently straining to keep his emotions under control.

When Mawenn addressed the audience, she stated:

“I’d like to share this moment with my lover, my producer, and Le Pacte.”

“It was a challenging production to fund, and I’d want to share this moment with my whole crew throughout the theater.”

Many have questioned Depp’s attendance at the renowned Cannes Film Festival in recent days. The Donnie Brasco star has legions of admirers all around the globe who have stayed staunch in their support despite his legal difficulties, but the charges made against him by Amber Heard, as well as the aforementioned trial, have also brought out his enemies in force.

Many of these reviewers were so outraged by his attendance at Cannes that festival director Thierry Fremaux felt obligated to respond before the opening night.

“I’m not sure about Johnny Depp’s image in the US,” Fremaux stated.

“To tell you the truth, I only have one rule in my life: the freedom of thought, speech, and action within a legal framework.”
“If Johnny Depp had been barred from acting in a film or the film itself had been barred, we wouldn’t be here discussing it.”

“This controversy arose once the film was announced at Cannes because everybody knew Johnny had made a film in France,” he said.

“I’m not sure why she chose him, but you should ask Maiwenn.”

“As for the rest, I’m the last person who can talk about it.”

“If there’s one person in the world who didn’t care about this highly publicized trial, it’s me.”

“I’m not sure what it’s about. I also like Johnny Depp as an actor.

Jeanne du Barry is Depp’s first picture following his controversial defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. The actor may still be dealing with emotional scars from the court case, which the international media closely followed, but his circumstances appear to be getting better lately.

It was revealed earlier this week that the Edward Scissorhands star had inked the largest men’s fragrance agreement in history with premium fashion brand Dior.

The new contract is estimated to be around $20 million, and Depp will collaborate with Dior for the next three years.