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

The assault was 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 story about the death of rapper Notorious BIG, released in theaters around the world for 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 was angry because was informed that filming had to stop due to a problem related to the permits granted by the city to shoot in that particular place.

What happened according to the man accusing Johnny Depp

A screaming conversation ensued. “Who the fuck are you? You have no right to tell me what to do!” the star would yell. “I’ll give you $100,000 to punch me in the face,” instead punching him into his interlocutor’s rib cage. A scene Brooks describes as humiliating because it happened “in front of a set full of people.” He continued “until Depp’s own bodyguards physically removed the actor from the scene.”

Not only that. Gregg Brooks also states “that Depp’s breath smelled of alcohol at the time.” The real problem, though, was later. Because he returned to the set two days later, the film’s producer, Miriam Segal, allegedly asked the man to sign a statement pledging to “not sue the production team.” Gregg Brooks claims he was fired after refusing to sign the document.

Johnny Depp’s answer

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

Along with the actor, Brooks sued Segal, director Brad Furman, Good Film Productions, and Johnny Depp’s production company, Infinitum Nihil founded “for intentionally inflicting emotional stress, assault, beatings, and neglect.”

The rest of the crew defends the actor

The story is not new. But at the time the versions were very different from the one provided by Brooks. Other crew members had spoken of a verbal confrontation that had never turned into a physical. “They had a fight, but there were no punches, there was nothing. They were just face-to-face for a few seconds,” screenwriter Emma Danoff told the Daily Beast. That reminds us that at the end of the quarrel the two even hugged.

The director had also defended Johnny Depp’s work. “He is a professional, a great collaborator and a supporter of other artists. Always treat the crew and the people around him with the utmost respect. Movies can be stressful and often “non-events” are exaggerated. We all love stories, but there aren’t any here.”

A different process than the one with Amber Heard

The Los Angeles court will decide. Gregg Brooks’ lawyer urged the authorities through the British newspaper The Sun to choose the date of the trial. That will be very different, he says, from the one just staged 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 lawyer said. “This is the assault on a member of the film crew by the production star. Mr Brooks looks forward to his day in court.”