Johnny Depp’s legal woes continue. A crew member on the upcoming crime film City of Lies filed a lawsuit on Friday, July 6, that claims the actor physically and verbally assaulted him on set in Los Angeles in April 2017, according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly.
Gregg “Rocky” Brooks — who worked as a location manager on the flick about the murders of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur — claims that Depp, 55, became upset when he told the movie star that they would have to stop filming one night after repeatedly extending their city permit. The lawsuit obtained by Us claims that Depp responded, “Who the f–k are you? You have no right to tell me what to do!”
According to the suit, the Pirates of the Caribbean star allegedly punched Brooks twice in his rib cage before yelling, “I will give you $100,000 to punch me in the face right now.” When the crew member did not react, Depp allegedly “continued to scream and berate him in front of a set full of people until Depp’s own bodyguards physically removed Depp from the scene.”
Brooks claims in the suit that Depp’s breath “reeked of alcohol” during the alleged incident. When Brooks returned to the set three days later, producer Miriam Segal allegedly wanted him to sign a declaration stating that he would not sue the production team. He claimed he was fired when he declined.
The location manager is suing Depp, Segal, director Brad Furman, Good Film Productions and Infinitum Nihil (the production company that Depp founded) for assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence, among other damages.
Furman defended the Edward Scissorhands actor’s behavior in a statement to Us in May. “Johnny Depp is a consummate professional, great collaborator and a supporter of other artists,” the director said at the time. “He always treats the crew and people around him with the utmost respect. Movies can be stressful, and nonevents often become exaggerated. We all love stories — there isn’t one here.”
The lawsuit comes just days after Rolling Stone published an extensive interview with Depp about his legal and financial issues. In January 2017, he sued his former business managers for allegedly mishandling his finances and therefore costing him millions of dollars. The managers countersued and claimed that Depp’s extravagant spending was to blame.
Us Weekly has reached out to Depp’s rep and lawyer for comment.
