Johnny Depp’s legal wrangling with his former managers has finally concluded, with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star reaching a settlement with The Management Group.
In a statement issued Monday, a spokesperson for the actor said, “Johnny Depp is pleased to have achieved a settlement agreement with The Management Group following the legal action he took against the company in January 2017.”
The spokesperson added, “The lawsuit taken out against The Management Group – and the subsequent settlement – is a further demonstration that Johnny is determined to take firm action to protect his personal and artistic reputation in the interests of his family and his career.”
The spokesperson added that, with a settlement reached, Depp will be able to fully focus on his various projects.
“Following the settlement, Johnny is pleased to be able to revert his full attention to his ongoing artistic endeavors, notably the second leg of the sold-out Hollywood Vampires global tour and the exciting launch of J.K. Rowling’s ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,’ which will be released in theaters in November this year.”
Depp initially sued The Management Group in January 2017, accusing his former managers of “self-dealing and gross misconduct.” Among the misdeeds that Depp, who sought $25 million, alleged: Taking a 5 percent commission of the actor’s income, “in some cases regardless of whether Mr. Depp actually received any income himself or not” — a commission that was “exorbitant, excessive, and far outstripped the actual value of services TMG would be performing for Mr. Depp.”
The management company subsequently filed a cross-complaint, accusing Depp of living “an ultra-extravagant lifestyle” that he “simply could not afford.”
“[T]hroughout the entire 17-year period that TMG represented Depp, Depp lived an ultra-extravagant lifestyle that knowingly cost Depp in excess of $2 million per month to maintain, which he simply could not afford,” the cross-complaint read.
Among the ill-considered extravagances alleged in the cross-complaint: Spending $75 million on 14 residences throughout the world; dropping more than $18 million to buy and renovate a 150-foot yacht; and spending $30,000 a month on “expensive wine that [Depp] had flown to him around the world for his personal consumption.”