Ah! The Cannes Film Festival. Despite being one of the biggest platforms in the world to showcase some of the best movies the world has ever seen, the festival has had a plethora of controversies involving celebrities.
From forcing women to dress according to some rules and regulations to a director joking that he is a nazi, the Cannes Film Festival has brushed a lot with controversies and critics. Well, here are the seven most controversial celebrity moments that just went too far! Although not every controversy was necessarily a bad thing!
1. The Cannes Film Festival became a political platform
This is one of the few controversies that hasn’t been a bad thing in recent times. French star Gérard Depardieu, who had faced allegations of se*ual assault, was finally handed an 18-month suspension sentence for groping two stars while filming the 2021 film The Green Shutters.
The controversial part is that the Cannes Film Festival had an unspoken rule about not caring for a director’s and an actor’s personal lives. They used to welcome everyone and every film to the Film Festival.
However, with Gérard Depardieu’s sentencing, the Cannes Film Festival upheld the judgment with integrity and (allegedly for the first time) didn’t invite the star to attend the film festival. According to Variety, the Cannes Film Festival has banned filmmakers or talent accused of sexual misconduct.
This led to the festival banning filmmaker Theo Navarro-Mussy from attending the premiere of Dominik Moll’s Case 137.
2. Robert De Niro blasted Donald Trump
This year’s Cannes Film Festival opened with a tribute to veteran star Robert De Niro. While accepting his Palme d’Or award, De Niro used the platform to “inspire people to take a political stand.”
The actor was ruthless in his pursuit of Trump and had quite a lot to say about the tariffs that Trump has put on foreign films.
Now, he has announced a 100% tariff on films produced outside the U.S. Let that sink in for a minute. You can’t put a price on creativity, but apparently you can put a tariff on it.
He continued,
We can’t just all sit back and watch. We have to act now. Without violence, but with great passion and determination. It’s time for everyone who cares about liberty to organize, to protest, and when there are elections, of course, to vote.
De Niro’s words were met with powerful applause from spectators, fellow actors, and filmmakers alike.
However, several people didn’t appreciate how the Cannes Film Festival was used as a platform for political speeches rather than focusing on the creativity and art of films.
3. The director who assaulted a journalist!
In 2023, the Cannes Film Festival welcomed director Maïwenn alongside Johnny Depp for the premiere of Jeanne du Barry. The film, which depicted Jeanne’s life and her affair with King Louis XV, was praised at the film festival.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that it wasn’t filled with controversies. Johnny Depp’s involvement in the film was harshly criticized since he was accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Although Depp had been acquitted of the charges, the emotions among the people were still high.
However, this wasn’t the worst of the controversies. Maïwenn was sued by French journalist Edwy Plenel, who alleged that the filmmaker grabbed him by the hair at a restaurant and spat in his face.
Well, Maïwenn confirmed that it indeed happened, but she had her justifications for it. As politically correct as the Cannes Film Festival may seem, it had no objection to a director assaulting a journalist!
4. Several actresses walked barefoot on the red carpet!
In 2015, a group of women in their 50s were removed from the premiere of Todd Haynes’ Carol for not wearing heels. Although it was never an official rule for the Cannes Film Festival, the incident did happen.
The festival received a ton of backlash because of this, and Emily Blunt (via IndieWire) also criticized this by saying, “Everyone should wear flats, to be honest. We shouldn’t wear high heels anyway.”
Naturally, in 2016, Julia Roberts removed her heels and walked the red carpet barefoot while Kristen Stewart did the same in 2018. Several A-listers have adopted this silent show of protest, and celebrities are often spotted barefoot on the red carpet.
5. A Nazi director at the Cannes Film Festival?
Lars von Trier has become infamous for inviting controversy wherever he goes. So in 2011, when he participated in Cannes with his film Melancholia, controversy was bound to follow.
According to IndieWire, the director talked about his German heritage and lineage and during his talks, he joked that he was an admirer of Adolf Hitler and was also a Nazi himself!
The backlash was immediate, and Cannes issued an apology the very next day and banned the director from attending the next Cannes Film Festival!
6. The Cannes Film Festival has changed its rules
They say creativity and art have no limits. However, this year, the Cannes Film Festival banned dresses with nudist elements and discouraged anyone from showcasing any form of nudity whatsoever.
Although that decision was made in good conscience, several actors were not happy with it. In fact, just before this rule was introduced, Julia Fox wore a see-through dress back in 2023, which turned heads.
However, this ban on nudity was just the first step. Remember the flowy and astonishing dresses that actresses wore? Yeah, the Cannes Film Festival banned those as well!
7. Halle Berry had to change her dress due to the rules!
Halle Berry, who is on the festival jury, revealed to reporters (via AP News) that she would abide by the new rules. This also led to a change in her dress since she was originally going to wear an amazing dress with a long train.
The actress and the rest of the jury seemed to abide by the rules, as “no voluminous dress” was worn by any of the jury members. However, people were uncertain about the enforcement of the rule since actresses like Wan Qian Hui wore these dresses without any repercussions. Berry said:
I had to make a pivot. But the nudity part, I do think is probably also a good rule.
However, what seems clear is that this year’s Cannes Film Festival was very politically charged. Similar to the history of events, it was riddled with controversies and enforced dress changes on women.
It seems that the next Cannes Film Festival could see some heavy backlash if the trend continues. The 2025 Cannes Film Festival is well underway and will continue to celebrate films around the world until 24 May 2025.
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