Johnny Depp arrives at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse for the video deposition from his former agent Tracey Jacobs. Photo / Shawn Thew, Pool via AP
Johnny Depp arrives at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse for the video deposition from his former agent Tracey Jacobs. Photo / Shawn Thew, Pool via AP
Johnny Depp's longtime agent has told a court that the star was an exceedingly "difficult" client who had "fundamental anger issues" and drew multiple complaints from film crews on "virtually every movie" he worked on.
Tracey Jacobs, of United Talent Agency, represented Depp as his agent for three decades until he cut ties with her in October 2016.
Jacobs' prerecorded video deposition was played at Depp's defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard in Fairfax County Court, Virginia, on Thursday.
Jacobs testified that Depp became "the biggest star in the world" during the time they worked together. At first, she did not consider him to be a "difficult client", she said. But that changed dramatically during her last 10 years of representing him when his "unprofessional behaviour … became far more complicated", Jacobs added.
Tracey Jacobs testifies in a previously recorded video deposition in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse. Photo / Shawn Thew, Pool via AP
The court heard that Jacobs was forced to travel to Australia twice while Depp was working on Pirates of the Caribbean 5, to "talk to" him in response to complaints about his behaviour from the film crew.
The Hollywood powerbroker said Depp "consistently showed up late" on "virtually every movie" he worked on and that she believed that to be the result of his alleged increased use of alcohol and drugs.
"I said to him 'you've got to stop doing this, this is hurting you', and it did," Jacobs said, adding that Depp did not take her advice.
"Initially, crews loved him because he was always so great with the crew. But crews don't love sitting around for hours and hours waiting for the star to show up.
"Word got around. It made people reluctant to use him toward the end."
Jacobs told the court that Depp allegedly had "fundamental issues with anger" that she said worsened over time but that she never saw him hit a woman.
Amber Heard speaking with a member of her legal team in the courtroom. Photo / Shawn Thew, Pool via AP
She also alleged that on one occasion, the star "demanded" that Jacobs give – not loan – him US$20m (NZ$31m) from the agency, saying he deserved it because of the money he'd made them over the years.
He ultimately "terminated essentially everyone in his life", including Jacobs, as his drug and alcohol abuse escalated, she said.
Jacobs also testified that no one at Disney had committed to hiring Depp for the sixth instalment of the Pirates franchise in conversations with her. "[Depp's] star dimmed," she said.
"People were talking and the question was out there about his behaviour."
As the trial's fifth week winds down, Jacobs' testimony cast doubt over Depp's claims that his career was harmed by Heard's allegations of domestic abuse, which he insists are false.
Other witnesses who testified for Heard, including her sister, former best friend and a make-up artist, strengthened her truth defence when they testified that they saw her with black eyes, a busted lip, and bloody patches of missing hair after a string of alleged beatings by Depp.
Depp arrived to a rock star reception – which has become a daily occurrence during the trial – where crowds of superfans gathered outside the court cheered and shouted "we love you Johnny". The majority of people who secured a seat inside the courtroom after lining up for hours appeared to also be Depp supporters, with dozens of them desperately waving at him as he entered the room at the start of the day.
Johnny Depp gestures to supporters during a break at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia. Photo / Shawn Thew, Pool via AP
Heard has testified that she filed for divorce from Depp in May 2016 because she feared for her life.
"I had to leave him," Heard said. "I knew I wouldn't survive if I didn't. I was so scared that it was going to end really badly for me." Heard said Depp would become a physically and sexually abusive "monster" when he was drinking and her efforts to curtail his drug and alcohol use had proven futile.
"The monster had been this thing that was now the normal and not the exception," she told the seven-person jury hearing the case in Fairfax, Virginia. "The violence was now normal."
The 58-year-old Depp, during his four days on the witness stand, denied ever striking Heard and claimed she was the one who was frequently violent.
Depp filed the suit against Heard over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018 in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse".
Heard, who had a starring role in Aquaman, did not name Depp in the op-ed but he sued her for implying he was a domestic abuser and is seeking US$50m (NZ$78m) in damages.
