Johnny Depp trial: charged with assault

New judicial grain for Johnny Depp. Which will have to go back to court. But without Amber Heard. This time, in fact, he is accused of assault by a member of the crew of the film City of lies. Photo Ansa

Here we go again. He hadn’t had time to get off the witness stand before he’s back in it. As a defendant this time. Johnny Depp is about to set foot in a courtroom. In Los Angeles this time. For a cause that sees him personally involved. The star was in fact accused of assault.

The assault on the set of City of Lies in 2017

The facts date back to 2017. On the set of the film City of Lies – The hour of truththe one on the rapper’s death Notorious BIGreleased in cinemas around the world over three years, from 2018 to 2021. Gregg “Rocky” Brooks, who was part of the crew as location manager accused the actor of punching him. According to the documents, filed in the complaint made in July 2018, Johnny Depp would have become angry once informed that the night filming would have to stop due to a problem related to the permits granted by the city to shoot in that particular place.

Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker in a scene from City of Lies (2018).

What happened according to the man accusing Johnny Depp

A shouted conversation ensued. “Who the fxxxo are you? You have no right to tell me what to do!», the star allegedly yelled. «I’ll give you 100,000 dollars to punch me in the face», instead giving him two punches in the ribcage of his interlocutor. A scene that Brooks describes as humiliating because it took place “in front of a set full of people”. And continued “until Depp’s own bodyguards physically removed the actor from the scene”.

Not only. Gregg Brooks also states “that Depp’s breath smelled of alcohol at the time”. The real problem, however, came later. Because back on set two days later, the producer of the film, Miriam Segal, he would have asked the man to sign a declaration in which he undertook not to sue the production team. Gregg Brooks claims he was fired after refusing to sign the document.

Johnny Depp’s answer

For its part, Johnny Depp’s legal response to the assault lawsuit filed against him says that the injuries Brooks sustained stem from the star’s need to defend himself or other people. And he accuses Brooks of causing the quarrel that resulted in those wounds.

Along with the actor, Brooks sued Segal, the director Brad FurmanGood Film Productions and Johnny Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil founded “for intentionally inflicting emotional distress, through assault, battery and neglect.”

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All the rest of the crew defend the actor

The story is not new. But at the material time, the versions were very different from the one provided by Brooks. Other crew members had talked about a verbal confrontation that never turned into a physical one. “They fought, but there were no punches, there was nothing. They were just face to face for a few seconds,” he told al Daily beast the screenwriter Emma Danoff. Which recalls that at the end of the quarrel the two even embraced.

Even the director had defended the work of Johnny Depp. «He is a professional, a great collaborator and an advocate for other artists. He always treats the crew and the people around him with the utmost respect. Movies can be stressful, and “non-events” are often exaggerated. We all love stories, but there aren’t any here.”

A moment of Johnny Depp’s trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard which took place between April and May 2022 in Virginia, in the United States. Photo Ap

A different process than the one with Amber Heard

The Los Angeles court will decide. Gregg Brooks’ lawyer has solicited the authorities through the English newspaper The Sun, to choose the date of the trial. Which will be very different, he says, from the one that just took place in Virginia between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard.

“Mr. Brooks’ case is not about two Hollywood celebrities involved in a toxic relationship,” the attorney said. «It is about the attack on a member of the film crew by the star of the production. Mr. Brooks looks forward to his day in court.’

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