Johnny Depp showed up late to set on ‘virtually every movie’, former agent says
Tracy Jacobs claims Depp’s tardiness on film sets ‘made people reluctant to use him’
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Johnny Depp showed up late to set on “virtually every movie”, according to his former agent.
Tracey Jacobs claimed that the Pirates of the Caribbean star developed a reputation for arriving late to movie sets, which made people in the film industry “reluctant to use him”.
The acting agent – who has represented stars including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, and British actor Simon Pegg – gave testimony on Thursday 19 May in the ongoing defamation trial brought by Depp against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
Depp is suing Heard for $50m (£38.2m). He alleges that Heard implied that he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed about domestic violence.
Heard is countersuing for $100m (£80.9m), accusing Depp of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment”.
Jacobs took the stand via video deposition on Thursday (19 March).
She was let go in 2016 after 30 years of working with Depp – during which time she said she helped to make him “the biggest star in the world”.
Jacobs testified that she does not know why Depp “terminated her” but added that he “terminated almost everyone in his life, so I was along for the ride”.
She said that Depp had become a difficult client in the final years that they worked together, claiming that he would “show up late to projects”.
Among the film sets that the actor was allegedly late to was Pirates of the Caribbean 5.
“Crews don’t love sitting around for hours and hours for the star to show up,” Jacobs told the court. “People talked – and it made people reluctant to use him.”
Jacobs spoke about having to fly to Australia twice during the filming of Pirates 5 to speak with Depp about his punctuality on set. She claims that part of the actor’s allegedly unprofessional behaviour was due to an increased use of alcohol and drugs.
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She alleged that Depp “romanticised” drug culture and had “fundamental issues with anger”, which worsened over time.
Jacobs recalled referring Depp to Dr David Kipper, citing the medical professional’s previous success in helping high-profile celebrities get sober.
On Wednesday (18 May), Heard’s acting coach Kirsty Sexton claimed Depp was “very concerned” about Heard working on movies with James Franco.
Sexton’s testimony followed after footage of Franco visiting Heard at her apartment the night she filed for divorce from Depp was played to jurors.
You can follow along with The Independent’s live blog of the trial here.