The 76th Cannes Film Festival kicked off on Tuesday with the red-carpet premiere of French director Maïwenn’s historical drama “Jeanne du Barry”, about French king Louis XV’s scandalous relationship with a lowly courtesan, starring Johnny Depp as the monarch in a high-profile comeback that has generated plenty of controversy.

Scandal is a clichéd word in Cannes, commonly slapped onto just about anything that causes a stir on and off the screen.

There are the many sexist scandals, of course, such as the 2016 “Heelgate” controversy that saw women in flat shoes barred from the red carpet. That was followed a year later by the controversial airbrushing of Claudia Cardinale on the official poster for the 70th festival edition.

Naturally, the movies have sparked their fair share of clamour. Four years ago, Abdellatif Kechiche’s sexually explicit, three-hour-long nightclub extravaganza “Mektoub my Love: Intermezzo” triggered a walkout by the lead actress during its gala premiere. The film has since vanished from the radars, still unreleased.

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