The Cannes Film Festival is known for its old-school glamour, but that glamour often comes at the expense of logic and practicality. In 2015, women were barred from the gala screening of Todd Haynes' Carol for not wearing high heels, including producer Valeria Richter, who had part of her left foot amputated. The following year, Julia Roberts protested by walking the red carpet barefoot.
Cannes audiences are famously vocal. When Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or in 1994, a woman shouted, “What a load of crap! Fucking hell, this is annoying!” Tarantino responded by giving her the finger. In 1983, Isabelle Adjani skipped a photocall, and photographers turned their backs on her during the red carpet.
Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life was heavily booed at its first screening but still won the Palme d'Or. In 1999, Sophie Marceau's rambling Palme d'Or presentation speech was booed until Kristin Scott Thomas intervened. The festival has also seen major thefts: in 2013, jewels worth £660,000 were stolen from a hotel, and later a £89m heist became France's biggest.
Gaspar Noé's Irréversible caused 250 walkouts, with 20 requiring medical attention, after its extended rape scene. The film lost the Palme d'Or to Roman Polanski. In 2024, Kelly Rowland confronted a staffer who rushed her on the red carpet, reportedly shouting, “Don't talk to me like that, you're not my mother!”
Maïwenn's Jeanne du Barry opened the 2023 festival starring Johnny Depp, his first major role since losing a libel case over domestic abuse allegations. The festival's history is littered with boos, protests and career-defining disasters, making controversy as much a part of Cannes as the films themselves.
