Johnny Depp's former business managers have portrayed the Hollywood star as a wild spender and point to his Australian controversy with dogs Pistol and Boo as "part of his pattern of habitually lying to the public and public authorities".
Depp is suing Beverly Hills-based entertainment business managers The Management Group for $US28 million ($A37 million).
The star claims TMG mishandled his finances over the 17 years they represented him, however TMG rejects this and struck back by extensively detailing what they claim was the Pirates of the Caribbean star's "ultra-extravagant" more than $US2 million a month lifestyle and his struggles to pay back loans.
When faced with the prospect of having to take a commercial flight rather than a private jet Depp allegedly responded in an email: "A commercial flight with paparazzi in tow would be a f*****g nightmare of monumental proportions."
"Depp listened to no one, including TMG and his other advisers, and he demanded they fund a lifestyle that was extravagant and extreme," TMG lawyers Michael Kump and Suann Macisaac wrote in a filing to the Superior Court in Los Angeles
Depp's lawyers did not respond to AAP's request for comment.
World headlines were created in 2015 when it was discovered Pistol and Boo were smuggled into Australia on a private plane when Depp was shooting Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard pleaded guilty last year in a Queensland court to falsifying quarantine documents, but Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on Monday Depp could be investigated for perjury after TMG's claims.
TMG refers to the Pistol and Boo Australian incident in a section in their court filing titled: "Depp's Complaint Against TMG Is Part Of His Pattern Of Habitually Lying To The Public And Public Authorities When Confronted With His Outrageous, Narcissistic Behaviour".
"In or about May 2015, Depp was involved in a well-publicised incident where he and his then-wife, Amber Heard, were accused of smuggling their Yorkshire terriers into Australia without the proper documentation and without declaring the animals," TMG lawyers wrote.
"TMG is informed and believes that Depp falsely claimed to authorities and in public press interviews that the incident was a big misunderstanding because he supposedly believed his staff had obtained the necessary paperwork.
"However, TMG is informed and believes that Depp was fully aware that he was illegally bringing his dogs to Australia, and when confronted heavily pressured one of his long-term employees to 'take the fall'."
The TMG court documents also allege Depp "was forced to borrow large sums of money" to fund his lifestyle and receive "advances from various movie studios, primarily Disney".
Depp's alleged spending included:
- More than $US75 million on 14 residences, including a 45-acre French chateau, Bahamas islands, multiple Hollywood houses, several downtown LA penthouse lofts and a Kentucky horse farm.
- $US18 million luxury yacht.
- 45 luxury vehicles.
- $US3 million to blast author Hunter Thompson's ashes from a specially-made cannon over Aspen, Colorado.
- $US30,000 per month on expensive wines. TMG says it is "laughable" for Depp to describe the wines as an investment because "wine is not an investment if you drink it as soon as you buy it".
- $US150,000 on security guards for his children.
- Up to $US1.2 million a year on a personal on-call physician.
- "Hundreds of thousands of dollars" for a full-time sound engineer "to feed him lines during film production" so "he no longer had to memorise his lines".
Share
