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Johnny Depp facing lawsuit for punching crew on set


The assault allegedly took place on the set of Johnny Depp's upcoming movie, "City of Lies".

10 Jul – Johnny Depp may be playing a detective in "City of Lies" but his actions on set have been less than law-abiding.

Depp is now facing an assault and battery lawsuit from a crew member, Greg "Rocky" Brooks, who was allegedly punched twice in the rib by the actor, Deadline reported.

The incident took place on 13 April 2017, when the movie, back then referred to as "Labyrinth", was filming inside and around the Barclay Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

A copy of the complaint filed on 6 July 2018 in L.A. Superior Court stated that filming for the day was supposed to be only from 7am to 10pm, but was later extended to 11pm (for exterior shots) and 12am (for interior shots) to accommodate Depp, who "wanted to direct two friends in an extended version of the scene previously scheduled for the day".

Brooks, who was the location manager, informed director Brad Furman that due to time constrain, the next shot that they would be shooting would have to be the final exterior shot of the night.

Knowing full well that Depp would not react kindly once informed about this, Furman pushed the responsibility to Brooks to break the news to the actor.


Brooks had no choice but to agree and planned to ask on-set LAPD officer Jim "Big" Rigg to assist him but before he could do so, he was accosted by Depp, who screamed in his face, "Who the f**k are you? You have no right to tell me what to do!"

Depp then proceeded to punch Brooks "twice in lower left side of rib cage and causing pain".


A still from the Johnny Depp-starring "City of Lies" that is planned for release this September.

When Brooks did not react, Depp yelled at him to punch him back in the face, shouting that he would pay Brooks USD 100,000 to do so.

Depp continued to scream at Brooks until the actor was physically removed from the scene by his bodyguards.

Brooks noted that Depp's breath reeked of alcohol.

Brooks is also suing Furman and the movie's producers as his work with them was immediately terminated on 16 April 2017, when he refused to sign a declaration stating that would not sue over the incident.

"City of Lies" sees Depp starring as L.A.P.D. detective Russell Poole, who is solving the murder cases of rappers The Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur.

Originally planned for release in North America on 7 September 2018, the new lawsuit on its star could possibly bring some changes, however.