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There is no denying the success Johnny Depp has achieved in the film industry. He has starred in several critically-acclaimed, box-office features – ultimately bagging a Golden Globe award, a Screen Actors Guild award and a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Unfortunately, he has been in and out of the news cycle in the last few years for less than pleasant circumstances. In fact, just this week he made his way into the headlines by allegedly attacking a crew on the set of his upcoming film.
According to reports, Depp physically assaulted one of the location manager on the set of Labyrinth. The production shut down a busy street in Los Angeles to film a scene for the movie. When the filming permit expired, the location manager informed the cast and crew, including the Depp, that they needed to wrap up. After smoking and drinking all day, a clearly intoxicated Depp started yelling in the manger’s face. The actor attempted to punch the manger but his punch didn’t land. At this point, he told the manager that he would give him $100,000 if he would punch the actor in front of everyone. The location manager did not respond to the threats. The production had Depp escorted away.
Neither Depp nor his representatives has released a statement denying or explaining the altercation. However, Brad Furman, director of Labyrinth, defended Depp’s actions:
“Johnny Depp is a consummate professional, great collaborator and a supporter of other artists. He 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.”
This is not the first time Johnny Depp has been in the limelight for assault and battery. In fact, the actor is known for his temper especially when inebriated.
As early as 1989, the actor was arrested for assaulting a hotel security guard in Canada. The guard dropped the charges after Depp promised that he would stay out of trouble. Five year later in 1994, Depp got himself in trouble again. The actor met criminal charges after trashing a hotel room. According to reports, Depp had a fight with his then girlfriend, Kate Moss. The actor decided to take it out on the furniture. Again, he got off without punishment.
More recently in 2016, Amber Heard, Depp’s then wife, filed for divorce and procured a restraining order against her husband. Depp allegedly assaulted her after a drunken fight in their Los Angeles home. According to Heard’s friend, Io Tillet Wright, Depp’s violence towards his wife escalated from shoves and punches to assault in the years that they have been married:
“The reports of violence started with a kick on a private plane, then it was shoves and the occasional punch, until finally, in December, she described an all-out assault and she woke up with her pillow covered in blood. I know this because I went to their house. I saw the pillow with my own eyes. I saw the busted lip and the clumps of hair on the floor”
Amber Heard and Johnny Depp eventually settled out of court.
Johnny Depp’s next film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,releases on Nov. 16.
