Brie Larson’s Viral Response To A Johnny Depp Q. Proves Women In Media Are Still Treated Poorly

brie larson johnny depp cannes film festival

Brie Larson was asked about Johnny Depp at Cannes Film Festival and her response to the reporter has gone viral. There’s a lot to unpack here so let’s dive right in.

For context, Brie Larson is a member of the celebrity competition jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which takes place every year at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in — you guessed it — Cannes, France.

One of the films showing on opening night is (the extremely problematic) Maïwenn‘s Jeanne Du Barry starring Depp.

The film is not competing in the Cannes Film Festival and, although it features Depp on every piece of promotional material, only stars the actor for approximately 15 minutes of its two-hour runtime.

So you might be asking, what the fuck Brie Larson has to do with any of this? The answer is easy: misogyny.

Here’s the viral clip in which Larson tells a reporter that she “doesn’t understand the correlation” between the controversies surrounding Depp and her role at Cannes Film Festival.

A woman criticised for the faults of a man? Shocking. I’ve never seen something like this before.

Clearly, the journalist was trying to have a “gotcha” moment, but Larson played this exceptionally well.

As someone who has been dragged to hell and back by misogynists since the start of her career (especially since her debut as Captain Marvel), Larson knows there is no real way to answer this question correctly.

I mean, she isn’t even judging Depp’s movie at the festival and she also isn’t the only celebrity on the judges panel that could have been asked a silly question like this. Targeting Larson specifically can be read as an act of misogyny.

A question like that leaves Larson in two positions: become villainised for your lack of response or receive hatred online for weighing in on such a messy drama. The truth of the matter is, the question should not exist in the first place.

The worst part is, it wasn’t the only question aimed at Larson that set her up for failure.

Here’s a clip of a journalist asking about the potential inclusion of Marvel movies (which are often seen as “not real cinema”) in a festival like Cannes. Again, it’s fishing for a controversial quote from the actor.

What we should be doing is holding people like Cannes Film Festival head Thierry Frémaux accountable for giving Depp’s movie a platform in the first place. He’s the one sorting out the lineup here, not Larson.

In fact, when he was asked about the decision, he claimed to not know anything about the drama. Why isn’t that being criticised in headlines?

“I don’t know the image of Johnny Depp in the United States,” he told reporters according to Deadline.

“He is extraordinary in the film in a role which is difficult. I don’t [know] why he was cast. You will have to ask Maïwenn her reasons for choosing him.

“For the rest, I’m the last person to talk to about this because if there is one person in the world who is not interested in this very mediatised process, it’s me. I am interested in Johnny Depp as an actor.”

Sounds like ignorance to me, but of course, nobody is questioning Frémaux because he isn’t a household name like Larson and he’s also a dude.

Cannes reporters think of engaging questions challenge please, I beg of you.

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