“ Johnny Depp ordered his bodyguards to remove a handicapped woman from a concert at the Hollywood Palladium, then “ignored her pleas and did nothing to stop the attack” after they took her iPhone, pulled her pants down and handcuffed her, the woman claims in Superior Court.
Jane Doe claims she was attacked in the VIP room of the Hollywood Palladium Theater on Dec. 1, 2011, where she was attending an Iggy Pop and the Stooges concert with her husband – as a gift for his birthday.
She claims the assault by Depp’s security detail left her “severely injured” and in a hospital emergency room.
Doe says she filed anonymously because of the media attention and publicity already attached to the alleged attack. She says she is a medical doctor and University of California Irvine professor, on disability leave, and needs a cane to walk long distances.
Doe says she had her first run-in with Depp’s security detail when she returned to the VIP area between sets, and found Depp’s bodyguards blocking her path. She claims Depp’s guards told her to use another entrance on the opposite side of the theater but “reluctantly allowed her to pass” after she explained she was disabled.
“During the start of the concert, Jane Doe and her friends noticed Depp and his security detail huddled and speaking to one another and with their attention directed to Jane Doe and her party,” the complaint states.
“During the huddle between Depp and his security guards, Depp, in his capacity as the security guards’ direct supervisor, directed their course of conduct with respect to plaintiff.
“Without provocation or prior notice, one of Depp’s security guards (‘security guard No. 1’), suddenly grabbed plaintiff Jane Doe from behind, bear-hugged her, and tightly grabbed and restrained both of her wrists.”
Doe says another guard tried to take her iPhone, which contained her patients’ confidential information. She says the guards dragged her to an upper balcony, “dropped her to the ground” and “forcefully pried” her iPhone from her, “one finger at a time.”
She claims: “Defendant Depp witnessed all of the foregoing actions by his security guards, did nothing to stop the foregoing actions despite the fact that said security guards were under his direct control, and, in fact, specifically directed the security guards’ actions.”
After returning to her seat and her husband, Doe says, the two bodyguards approached her again and told her they were off-duty police officers. She says one of them grabbed her tightly by the wrist and forcibly handcuffed her.
She claims that in all, three security guards “repeatedly yanked the handcuff chain upwards towards the ceiling; causing severe injuries and trauma to Doe’s wrists, arms, and body.”
“While being dragged on the floor by the handcuffs, plaintiff’s pants were removed from her torso and hips, exposing her buttocks to the other Hollywood Palladium Theater patrons,” the complaint states.
She claims Depp “did nothing to halt their actions,” even after she “motioned to and pleaded with defendant Depp to call off his security guards.”
“Defendant Depp ignored plaintiff’s pleas and did nothing to stop the attack on Jane Doe,” the complaint states.
The security guards, with the aid of theater employees, dragged her up a set of stairs in full view of onlookers, and forced her out of the theater, Doe says.
“Jane Doe was severely injured as a result of the assaults by defendants and immediately sought medical care by going to a hospital emergency room,” the complaint states.