LOS ANGELES – Johnny Depp will be facing a tough time after being sued by a film crew member. The Hollywood actor has been alleged for punching a crew member twice at the movie set. The Pirates of Carribean actor had hit on the sets at Los Angeles while shooting for a movie about the killing of the Notorious B.I.G., and that he was fired from the production when he refused to promise not to sue over the incident.
The location manager Greg “Rocky” Brooks is also suing the film’s director and producers for unspecified damages in the lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
In the movie, ‘City of Lies’ set for U.S. release Sept. 7, the 55-year-old Depp plays a Los Angeles police detective who for years investigated the still-unsolved 1997 death of the rapper Notorious B.I.G., also known as Biggie Smalls, whose real name is Christopher Wallace.
Brooks alleges that in April 2017, when the film was shooting under the title “Labyrinth” in and around the Barclay Hotel in downtown LA, he informed the director Brad Furman that an upcoming take featuring Depp would have to be the last outdoor shot of the night because of legal permits.
The lawsuit says Furman forced Brooks to go beyond his duties and tell Depp himself that shooting had to end. Brooks said he was seeking out the off-duty sheriff’s deputy serving asset security when Depp found him first.
Brooks said Depp smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated as he shouted obscenities then “angrily and forcefully” and that was the time when he punched Brooks twice in the rib cage.
Depp then yelled “I will give you one hundred thousand dollars to punch me in the face right now!” at Brooks when he showed little reaction, according to the lawsuit, before the actor’s bodyguards pulled him away.
Brooks said he returned to work the following Monday and was asked by a producer to write and sign a declaration saying he wouldn’t sue over the incident. Brooks says he was fired on the spot when he refused. Brooks suffered humiliation, wrongful termination and physical and mental pain from the incident, the lawsuit says.
He further shared that”The filmmakers should have known that Depp was using alcohol and drugs and was a threat to the well-being of others on the set”.
Depp has seen a career downturn with several box-offices flops in recent years. We hope, the matter gets resolved and things go smoothly for Edward Scissor Hands actor in future.
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