Johnny Depp Headed For Another Trial Until His Lawyers Made It Go Away
It looks like Johnny Depp just had an incoming lawsuit settled and removed after his legal team was able to make it go away before trial
Johnny Depp recently wrapped up a much-publicized trial against Amber Heard which seemed to go on forever with every sordid detail of his relationship, once again, coming out in the public purview. He ultimately “won” the case (did anyone really win here?) and might have set his career back on the right path. And amidst all of the media hubbub around the case with Amber Heard, there was another lawsuit out there involving Johnny Depp that threatened to put him back in the spotlight once again. But it looks like he and his lawyers were able to squelch this one, making it go away right at the point where Johnny Depp’s career looked like it was getting back on the right track. It would appear fortuitous timing in that respect.
According to Deadline, with a trial looming, Johnny Depp and his legal team were able to come to a settlement with Gregg “Rocky” Brooks around an incident on the set of the movie City of Lies from back in 2018. Had this gone to trial, the public relations fallout for Johnny Depp could have had been significant, something he was likely trying to curb in the wake of the goodwill seemingly brought on after winning the lawsuit against Amber Heard. From that respect, it’s pretty easy to see why the two sides were able to come to an agreement that kept this case out of open court. While the terms of the settlement around this case aren’t known, it would appear the number offered was significant enough to make the whole thing go away.
This lawsuit from Brooks against Johnny Depp stemmed from a 2017 incident on the set of City of Lies, a movie that focused on the Los Angeles Police Department’s investigation into the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. Depp plays Russell Poole, a retired detective who was at the heart of the initial investigation. While filming, it was reported that Johnny Depp screamed at and then physically assaulted Brooks who was a location manager for the movie. This seemed to stem from Depp being angry that Brooks had informed him that shooting for the film had wrapped for the evening. Eventually, Depp was escorted away by his own security team. Director Brad Furman was originally listed as a co-defendant in the case but his name was ultimately dropped.
It’s been a couple of years of legal issues and court cases for Johnny Depp which seemed to threaten his career long-term and definitely had short-term effects. In the wake of him losing a lawsuit against the British tabloid The Sun, Depp was dropped from the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise as well as a possible reboot of Pirates of the Caribbean.
But when his stateside defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard was ruled in his favor, it seemed that Hollywood was willing to get back into business with the guy. Netflix just recently purchased his film La Favorite, and he’s also set to star in Jeanne du Barry as well. From this standpoint, it’s not all that surprising Johnny Depp and his legal team wanted to make sure this particular lawsuit never saw the light of day.
