Johnny Depp Sued for Allegedly Punching ‘City of Lies’ Location Manager During Filming
Zack Sharf
Johnny Depp is being sued for allegedly punching location manager Gregg “Rocky” Brooks on the set of his upcoming film, “City of Lies.” Brooks filed a lawsuit against the actor on July 9, Variety reports. The location manager said the incident occurred on April 13, 2017, while the “City of Lies” production was filming outside the Barclay Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.
According to the lawsuit, the production was given permission to shoot outside the hotel until 7 P.M. and inside the hotel until 10 P.M. Brooks had to get the shooting permit extended twice to accommodate Depp because the actor wanted to perform a longer cut of a particular scene. Brooks said 11 P.M. was the latest he could get the shooting time inside the hotel extended and when he notified director Brad Furman that production would have to stop for the evening, the director replied, “Why don’t you tell that to Johnny Depp?”
Before Brooks could even find Depp, the actor allegedly went up to him and yelled, “Who the fuck are you? You have no right to tell me what to do!” When Brooks tried to explain to Depp that his job as location manager is to make sure the film’s production adheres to city permits, Depp reportedly fired back, “I don’t give a fuck who you are and you can’t tell me what to do.” Depp allegedly punched Brooks twice in the left rib cage while he was screaming at him.
Brooks said he was fired from the “City of Lies” production three days later after he refused to sign a release giving up his right to sue Depp over the incident. The location manager alleged he could smell alcohol on Depp’s breath at the time of the incident.
“City of Lies,” which was called “Labyrinth” during production, stars Depp as former LAPD detective Russell Poole and tells the story of the police investigation of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls’ murders. The movie is set to open September 7 from Global Road Entertainment. IndieWire has reached out to Depp’s representative for comment.
