- Johnny Depp demanded $20 million from his talent agency in 2016, his former agent said.
- Former agent Tracey Jacobs spoke as part of the ongoing defamation trial with Amber Heard.
- "He just expected us to do it," Jacobs said, adding that Depp was "in financial desperation."
Johnny Depp's former agent said that during the height of his financial woes, the star demanded a $20 million handout from his agency, court testimony shows.
"He just expected us to do it," said Tracey Jacobs, a talent manager at United Talent Agency (UTA).
Jacobs, who worked with Depp for 30 years, spoke in a pre-recorded deposition seen by jurors on Thursday as part of the ongoing defamation trial between Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard.
She said that in January 2016, Depp came to UTA "in financial desperation."
According to an earlier trial deposition from Depp's former money manager Joel Mandel, the actor had made more than $600 million in the previous 17 years, as Insider reported.
Mandel described Depp as having exorbitant outgoings on things like security, private doctors, and in-house staff. Depp later settled a case with Mandel after having accusing him of mishandling his money.
Asked to confirm that Depp had asked the agency to get him $20 million, Jacobs said: "Actually it was 'I want you to give me $20 million,'" she said. "The question was not asked as a loan."
"He felt that he had made a lot of money for us and he thought that we should just do it because of how much money he had made over the duration of his being at UTA," Jacobs continued.
You can see some of her testimony here:
The agency refused, but eventually managed to organize a loan for Depp through Bank of America, Jacobs said. "We're not a bank," she said.
"It was very helpful to him," Jacobs said.
Depp eventually fired UTA and Jacobs in October 2016, Variety reported.
By then, Jacobs said, "his star had dimmed" due to frequent lateness and drunkenness on set. Meanwhile, Vanity Fair reported that his lifestyle was costing him around $2 million a month.
Depp is suing Amber Heard in a $50 million defamation case, in which he says her 2018 op-ed about the #MeToo movement in The Washington Post hurt his reputation so badly that he fell out of favor with Hollywood.
Heard, who did not directly mention Depp in the article, is counter-suing for $100 million.