Former Depp managers file counterclaim
LOS ANGELES: Johnny Depp took himself to the brink of financial ruin by spending tens of millions of dollars on homes, art, cars, a yacht and Hollywood memorabilia, according to a lawsuit filed by his former business managers.
The suit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court this week by the Mandel Company, which handled Depp’s affairs for 17 years until being fired in March 2016, was a counterclaim to the actor’s $US25 million ($NZ34 million) lawsuit last month accusing the firm of fraud and financial mismanagement.
The court papers detailed Depp’s spending as including $US75 million on buying or improving 14 residences, including a French chateau and a chain of islands in the Bahamas. He also bought 45 luxury vehicles, amassed a 200piece art collection with works by Andy Warhol and Amedeo Modigliani and had 12 storage units full of memorabilia associated with Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando and other celebrities, the lawsuit said.
The actor, whose career took off after the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie in 2003, also spent more than $US3 million to blast the ashes of author Hunter Thompson over Aspen, Colorado, from a cannon, the lawsuit alleged.
Depp’s lawyer, Adam Waldman, responded to the lawsuit with a statement saying: ‘‘How cataloguing alleged spending by Mr Depp of his own money could somehow absolve the defendants of a large and multifaceted mosaic of wrongdoing will ultimately be determined by the court.’’
The Mandel Company, which is seeking $US560,000 in damages and fees owed by Depp, said it had done ‘‘everything possible to protect Depp from his own irresponsible and profligate spending’’.
Forbes magazine ranked Depp as Hollywood’s highestpaid actor from June 2009 to June 2010 with earnings of $US75 million. — Reuters