EPA/NEIL HALL
After a few years of legal and financial troubles, it seems actor Johnny Depp will be going back to court after he has been sued by some of his former bodyguards.
According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles court on Tuesday, May 1, retired police detective Eugene Arreola and Miguel claim they started working for Depp in 2013 while employed by a local personal security corporation, and are now suing because of the conditions they had to work in as well as for unpaid wages.
According to the two men they were forced to work in dangerous conditions and take on roles not usually done by security detail which included being around “illegal substances” and loaded weapons, and were also expected to work as babysitters for Depp’s child and “were forced to protect [Depp] from himself and his vices while in public, becoming caretakers for him.”
As an example they mention one night at a club when they had to alert their boss to “illegal substances visible on his face and person.” They said they had to “prevent onlookers” from noticing “Depp’s condition.
In 2016 things got worse when they were hired as part of Depp’s personal in-house security team where they noticed a “stark change in Depp” and conditions around his Hollywood Hills compound.
“Depp began making sudden and drastic changes to his staff and management team, causing a significant financial crunch for everyone surrounding Depp, except for Depp himself,” the complaint continues, noting that Arreola and Sanchez accepted the in-house detail because they “were loyal to Depp and his family and understanding of the financial hurricane Depp was in.”
Before long, the complaint notes, both men noticed that their pay was missing “overtime and rest pay.” They added that from 2016 to 2018, they did not receive overtime pay or “meal and rest breaks as mandated by law” and were “misclassified as independent contractors when they were clearly hired as employees.”
The complaint also details several situations in which they men were not comfortable working for Depp which included Sanchez claiming he became the “primary caretaker” for Depp’s child which would have been his son John Christopher Depp III. Arreola and Sanchez are asking to be compensated for the allegedly unpaid wages, as well as for attorney fees and damages.