Maïwenn, a French filmmaker, admitted to pulling Edwy Plenel’s hair and spitting on him in a Paris restaurant earlier this year. Plenel reported the incident to police on March 7.
Maïwenn, whose full name is Maïwenn Le Besco, told French daily Le Journal du Dimanche that she felt “morally violated” by Mediapart’s publishing of rape charges against her ex-husband, filmmaker Luc Besson. Besson married 16-year-old Maïwenn in 1992. They separated in 1997.
In late 2018, Maïwenn met with a Mediapart journalist off the record. She testified for the court in June 2020 during actress Sand Van Roy’s probe. An inquiry cleared Besson in 2021.
Paris Match and Mediapart released sections from Maïwenn’s evidence in early 2021 without telling her, despite Mediapart’s promise to give her 48 hours’ warning for her daughter with Besson. Maïwenn sued Paris Match and lost; she did not sue Mediapart.
Maïwenn “proposed a discussion” instead of apologizing to Plenel. Plenel wants her to submit
Johnny Depp’s casting in Maïwenn’s “Jeanne du Barry” has drawn controversy. Maïwenn replied to the incident by saying, “I’ve been making films for the past 17 years, against a backdrop of women fighting for respect. We can’t limit everything to the Johnny Depp controversy and turn the little subtleties I’m attempting to add into the conversation against myself and my films.”
In May 2023, Plenel questioned Maïwenn’s #MeToo support. “She’s outspokenly anti-#MeToo and she made a gesture to please her world,” Plenel told Variety. “We saw that world’s pride.” “We published what [Maïwenn] told police as part of the investigation into Besson,” Plenel stated.
She told the police about her problematic connection with Luc Besson, especially during their separation. We had no complaints after publishing our essay. That was five years ago—that would indicate Maïwenn desired retribution all this time.”
