What happened with Ezra Miller? Controversies explored as troubled actor makes Cannes appearance

With the 78th Cannes Film Festival underway, Ezra Miller made a rare appearance at the prestigious event over the weekend. In a video shared by Variety, The Flash star is seen hastening, without stopping, and posing for the media photographers on the red carpet.

Miller’s unexpected appearance at Cannes is one of the few since the release of their DCEU film. The Hollywood star has remained out of the media and the Paparazzi’s sight for quite some time. The 2020s have been controversial for Ezra Miller, as they found themself at the center of multiple legal troubles.

Before they went out of the public eye, the Dalíland actor faced grooming accusations, arrests due to disorderly conduct, burglary charges, assault allegations, and more between 2020 and 2022. One of the first incidents reportedly happened years before the string of controversies emerged.

According to TMZ, the authorities apprehended Ezra Miller for marijuana possession in 2011 during a routine inspection. Later, during a hearing, the NJ judge dropped the possession charge and issued two disorderly conduct citations. For years, it remained the only controversial incident for Miller until April 2020.

Read on to learn more about the legal issues and other incidents involving the Afterschool star.

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A look at the controversies involving the Justice League star Ezra Miller

The Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore star was in Reykjavik, Iceland, in April 2020 when a video of them choking a woman at a bar surfaced online. Variety cited sources who called the incident a “serious altercation” and claimed that Ezra Miller was escorted off the bar. The woman in the video also opened up about the fight after two years and told the magazine,

“I think it’s just fun and games — but then it wasn’t.”

The actor’s rep proclaimed in September 2022 that Miller’s actions in the viral clip were a “spontaneous reaction” after a group of teenagers provoked them. According to Vanity Fair, their representative maintained that the Hollywood star did not choke the woman. Instead, they “went at her collarbone.”

Within two years of the alleged bar altercation in Iceland, Ezra Miller again found themselves in legal trouble after they were arrested in Hawaii based on accusations of disorderly conduct and harassment. Here’s what the Hawaii Police Department stated after they were apprehended on March 27, 2022,

“Miller began yelling obscenities and at one point grabbed the microphone from a 23-year-old woman singing karaoke and later lunged at a 32-year-old man playing darts. The bar owner asked Miller to calm down several times.”

Earlier that year, Ezra threatened the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members in another viral video. They were heard saying in the video,

“Look, if y'all want to die, I suggest just killing yourselves with your own guns. OK? [...] Otherwise, keep doing exactly what you're doing right now — and you know what I am talking about — then, you know, we'll do it for you, if that's really what you want. Talk to you soon, OK. Bye.”

During their stay in Hilo, Hawaii, Miller was served with a restraining order after they allegedly harassed and threatened a couple. The actor was reported to be staying with the pair at a hostel and was accused of stealing the wife’s passport and the husband’s wallet. In another isolated incident, Ezra was again arrested on a second-degree assault charge in April.

According to the Hawaii Police Department, the actor allegedly threw a chair that caused a forehead injury to a female,

“During the course of their investigation, police determined that the individual, later identified as Ezra Miller, became irate after being asked to leave and reportedly threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old female on the forehead, resulting in an approximate half-inch cut.”

In the following days, Ezra Miller pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct charges and was fined $500. It wasn’t the end of troubles for the Trainwreck actor, as they faced grooming allegations in June. Parents of one Tokata Iron Eyes alleged in a court filing that the actor was manipulating and controlling their daughter.

Chase Iron Eyes and Sara Jumping Eagle, Tokata’s parents, claimed in their filing that Miller met their daughter in 2016 (when they were 23). Tokata, who identifies as non-binary, was 12 at the time when they first met the Hollywood star. Later, the daughter denied the grooming allegations leveled against Miller.

In a separate incident, the Every Day actor again faced grooming allegations from another parent. According to The Daily Beast, a mother from Massachusetts was granted a temporary harassment prevention order against Miller. In the coming months, the actor also faced accusations of burglary by their neighbor in Vermont.

In June 2022, a Rolling Stone investigative piece uncovered another controversy. The article alleged that Ezra Miller was housing a 25-year-old woman and her three kids at their Vermont farm. She was reportedly staying at the actor’s property to escape her “violent and abusive ex” and described Miller’s ranch as a “healing haven for us.”

The presence of weapons at the farm also raised concerns about the safety of the children, with a source claiming that a toddler “allegedly picked up a loose bullet and put it in her mouth.” The mother, who was living at Ezra’s farm, took a defensive stance and said,

“They may have firearms for self-defense purposes and they are stored in a part of the house that the children never go in… My kids are able to relax more into their healing because of the safety and nurturing Ezra has been providing for them.”

Amidst the reports of their erratic behavior in public and other allegations, Ezra Miller addressed them in a conversation with People and said,

“Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment.”

They added,

“I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”

Later that year, during a hearing regarding the burglary charge, Miller pleaded not guilty. During the next hearing in January 2023, they pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge and were penalized with one-year probation. During a controversial 2022, the actor remained at the center of speculations around getting recast in The Flash.

Ezra Miller remained a part of the DCEU film, which was released in June 2023. The film received mixed reception and was a commercial failure, ending up being The Perks of Being a Wallflower star’s last acting role. They were eventually recast as D.A. Sinclair in the upcoming seasons of Invincible. They voiced the role in the season 1 episode "You Look Kinda Dead" and were replaced by Eric Bauza.

According to Variety, Miller was recently seen in public at Cannes, where they supported director Lynne Ramsay. Ramsay’s Die, My Love, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, is competing for the Palme d'Or this year and had its world premiere on May 17, 2025.