This month, the trial was supposed to start.
A City of Lies crew member who says Johnny Depp attacked him on set has reached a tentative agreement with the actor to end his lawsuit.
According to a notice of settlement that was filed with the court on Monday, Depp made a deal with location manager Greg “Rocky” Brooks. As part of the deal, Depp has to follow some unspecified terms by the end of August.
“The settlement agreement says that this case won’t be dropped until certain terms are met, which can’t be done within 45 days of the date of the settlement,” the filing says. “No later than 1/5/2023, a request to dismiss will be filed.”
The notice didn’t say what the deal was about. If Depp doesn’t follow the rules, the case will be opened again.
Brooks sued Depp in 2018 because he said that Depp punched him twice when he was drunk. He said that Depp yelled at him and hit him twice in the ribs. He also said that Depp gave him $100,000 to hit back. Brooks was supposedly fired from the production because he wouldn’t promise to sue over what happened. He also said that Depp was on drugs on set and smelled like alcohol when they met.
After the lawsuit was filed, Emma Danoff, who was in charge of writing the script for the movie, came to Depp’s defense and said she has proof that the incident didn’t happen. She told the court that she saw the fight and that Depp only got mad at Brooks after the location manager called a Black homeless woman racial slurs in front of her.
“He got up right away from the planter bench we were sitting on together and went over to Brooks to defend the woman,” Danoff said. “Mr. Depp told Mr. Brooks, ‘You can’t talk to her like that. Do you think she’s less than you in some way? Who are you, anyway? How dare you?'”
Danoff didn’t agree with Brooks’s claim that Depp punched him and that she had photos to prove it.
Camille Vasquez was on Depp’s legal team and helped him in his defamation battle with Amber Heard. She didn’t answer right away when asked for her opinion.
Arbella Azizian, who is Brooks’s lawyer, also didn’t respond right away when asked for a comment.