Now, unfortunately, Depp is about to head back to trial amid claims that he assaulted a crew member on a movie set in 2017. Newsweek reports:
Gregg “Rocky” Brooks—who worked as a location manager on Depp’s film City of Lies, about the murder of rapper The Notorious B.I.G.—has accused the actor of punching him in the chest during a dispute on the Los Angeles set in April 2017.
While Brooks alleges that Depp “reeked of alcohol” and punched him repeatedly even after he attempted to extricate himself from the situation, Newsweek‘s article goes on to note that this is not, though, how others recall the alleged incident playing out:
Back in 2018, other crew members had insisted that the alleged incident between Depp and Brooks did not escalate beyond a verbal confrontation.
“They had a little moment, there weren’t punches, there wasn’t anything, just were in each others’ face for a second,” script supervisor Emma Danoff told The Daily Beast. “We shot for maybe another hour-and-a-half after that, we went inside.
“We finished and the locations guy came up to Johnny and they hugged and it was all cute and that was it.”
Furthermore, director Brad Furman — who is also named in Brooks’s lawsuit alongside Depp, Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil, Good Film Productions, and producer Miriam Segal — previously defended Depp to Us Weekly:
Johnny Depp is a consummate professional, great collaborator and a supporter of other artists.
“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.”
Brooks’s lawsuit was officially filed in 2018, the year City of Lies was supposed to hit theaters. The film was ultimately delayed until 2021. Depp played late Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detective Russell Poole, who is best known for his investigation of the 1997 death of The Notorious B.I.G., who was born Christopher Wallace.
Fortunately for the Edward Scissorhands star, he has a great deal of support from both his legion of fans and his fellow cast and crew members as this new trial begins. Depp reportedly may appear on the stand in his own defense when the proceedings begin on July 25, 2022 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
More on Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard
If you haven’t been following the ongoing Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard case, in November 2020, Hollywood actor Depp lost his libel lawsuit against U.K. News Group Newspaper publication, The Sun, for their report that he had allegedly engaged in domestic violence — including a reported “hostage” situation during a Pirates of the Caribbean shoot in Australia — against the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom actress on multiple occasions.
British Judge Andrew Nicol presided over the original proceedings, and Depp later lost his right to appeal the original ruling in the United Kingdom. The Jack Sparrow actor, for his part, has denied the domestic violence allegations, with even his ex-partners, Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder, speaking out in his defense at various points in time.
Depp has been fired from his two most high-profile parts — his iconic role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney’s Pirates franchise and as Gellert Grindelwald in Warner Bros. Fantastic Beasts series — as a result of the ongoing situation.
At this time, as noted, Depp recently won the duo’s $50 million U.S. defamation lawsuit. stemming from a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which Heard alleged that the actor had committed acts of domestic violence against her.
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Credit: ABC
