Johnny Depp has reached a tentative settlement in his “City of Lies” lawsuit. The Hollywood actor was sued for allegedly assaulting crew member Gregg ‘Rocky’ Brooks on the set of the movie.
Brooks accused the 59-year-old actor of “maliciously and forcefully” punching him twice in his ribs before saying he’d pay the location manager $100 000 to “punch (him) in the face” in April 2017. Brooks said he suffered “physical pain and emotional and psychological injury” as a result.
In his legal documents, he slammed the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star’s conduct, alleging that it “was intentional and malicious and done for the purpose of causing plaintiff to suffer humiliation”.
According to Brooks, he was fired from the movie when he refused to sign a release waiving his right to sue over the incident. However, on Monday a notice of settlement was filed in court.
The filing obtained by The Hollywood Reporter read: “The settlement agreement conditions dismissal of this matter on the satisfactory completion of specified terms that are not to be performed within 45 days of the date of the settlement. A request for dismissal will be filed no later than 1/5/2023.” The case faces being reopened should the ‘Blow’ actor not adhere to the terms, which have not been made public.
When reports of an alleged altercation were first raised in 2018, director Brad Furman defended Depp and praised the actor as a “consummate professional”.
Furman said: “He (Depp) always treats the crew and people around him with the utmost respect.
“Movies can be stressful, and non-events often become exaggerated. We all love stories – there isn’t one here.”
“City of Lies”, a drama focused on the investigation of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur’s murders which also stars Forest Whitaker, was initially pulled from its release schedule in 2018 before coming out last year.
Depp settling the lawsuit comes just over a month after his ex-wife, Amber Heard, was ordered to pay him $10.35 million in damages after a jury in the US ruled that she had defamed him when she wrote an article in 2018 about being a victim of domestic abuse. She was awarded $2m in compensatory damages for her countersuit.
However, Heard’s lawyers have since argued that the “Aquaman” actress, 36, is entitled to a mistrial “based on newly discovered facts and information” that one of the jurors present for the case was not the one summoned for jury duty. Depp is arguing for the denial of Heard’s request for a mistrial.
Source: IOL
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