Johnny Depp’s rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires is facing legal action over a canceled 2023 concert in Slovakia, with a promoter claiming the band failed to perform after being paid in advance.
The group, which also includes Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, has been named in a federal lawsuit filed in Texas. The complaint stems from a July 2023 show that was scheduled to take place at Olympic Fields in Slovakia.
According to court documents reviewed by TMZ, the promoter alleges he paid the band $277,000 upfront for the performance. However, after the concert was abruptly canceled, he claims he never received a refund despite repeated requests.
The promoter further alleges that the band’s stated reason for canceling the show – issues with the venue-was not accurate. In the filing, he claims the cancellation was actually due to “personal reasons unrelated to the venue,” pointing to reports at the time that Depp had been hospitalized for an undisclosed medical issue.
The canceled event reportedly caused financial losses for the promoter and damaged his professional reputation, with the filing stating he was left “unreliable in the industry.” The band’s canceling led the promoter to lose “money and [look] unreliable in the industry.” “Upon arrival today to the venue in Slovakia to begin set up for tonight’s performance, it quickly became clear that the construction of the facility was incomplete and therefore unsafe for both the band and the general public,” the group said in a statement on July 20, 2023.