The actor's rep confirmed to CBS News that the actor and business managers reached a settlement
Johnny Depp has settled his $25 million lawsuit against his former business managers, The Management Group (TMG). His representative confirmed to CBS News that the actor and business managers reached a settlement; the terms of the agreement are confidential.
A spokesperson for Depp 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 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 statement also said that Depp is thankful to his fans and excited to focus his energy on his work for "J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald."
TMG had no comment. A source close to the litigation told CBS News that TMG is pleased with the settlement.
Recently, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Depp talked about his legal battle with TMG, run by brothers Robert and Joel Mandel. Depp said that the brothers cost him $6 million in fees after they failed to pay his taxes on time for 13 years; the Mandels hit back that they were not able to pay the taxes on time because Depp was cash poor. Depp also complained that the Mandels paid his sister $7 million and his assistant $750,000 without telling him, and let his family in Kentucky spend exorbitant amounts of money.
However, Depp also bragged to Rolling Stone that TMG's countersuit lowballed some of his purchases. He said, "It's insulting to say that I spent $30,000 on wine because it was far more."
He added that they also got the price wrong for one of his most outlandish outlays, paying to shoot the ashes his friend, the late writer Hunter S. Thompson, into the sky.
"By the way, it was not $3 million to shoot Hunter into the f**king sky," Depp said. "It was $5 million."
This story was originally published by CBS News on June 16, 2018 at 5:33 p.m. ET.
It should be noted that Depp's lawsuit was filed in January 2017 and accused TMG of fraud, theft and malfeasance in its mismanagement of the actor's business and financial interests. Depp sought $25 million in damages, including years worth of professional fees. The Management Group, led by Joel and Robert Mandel, then filed a countersuit alleging that Depp was responsible for his own financial hardship, and noted that he spent millions of dollars on wine, luxury homes, household staff, art, private jets, security, and a cannon to blast Thompson’s ashes.
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