Johnny Depp's management says he never learns his lines

Johnny Depp apparently doesn't even bother to learn his lines. Photo / Getty Images

Johnny Depp has his lines fed to him through an earpiece, it has been claimed.

The Pirates of the Caribbean actor's former management company, The Management Group (TMG), accused the star of never learning his scripts, and alleged he has spent "years" paying sound engineers to feed him his dialogue on set instead, in court documents filed on Monday.

The documents, written by attorney Michael Kump on behalf of TMG's Joel and RobertMandel - who are countersuing the actor in response to his lawsuit against them for mismanaging his money - state: "Depp insisted that this sound engineer be kept on yearly retainer so that he no longer had to memorise his lines."

The new documents also allege the 53-year-old star may have "compulsive spending disorder" and suggested he needs "a mental examination".

TMG claim their former client - who they parted ways with in March 2016 - spent over $75 million acquiring and improving 14 homes, including a chain of islands in the Bahamas, multiple houses in Hollywood and a chateau in the south of France.

They also said he splurged on 45 luxury vehicles, "refused" to travel on anything other than a private jet, owned 70 collectible guitars and Hollywood memorabilia that filled 12 storage facilities, as well as paying up to $1.2 million a year on a "personal on-call physician" and "millions more to employ an army of attorneys", who they alleged made a series of "hush money settlements" to unnamed parties.

The documents also dismissed Johnny's lawyer's "laughable" claims that his $30,000-a-month wine bill was an investment.

They said: "Depp would be hard pressed to find a single bottle of wine that he purchased during his tenure with TMG that he or his various companions have not yet consumed.

"Wine is not an investment if you drink it as soon as you buy it."

A lawyer acting on behalf of the 'Dark Shadows' actor slammed the allegations as "psychobabble".

Adam Waldman said in a statement: "This is how guilty people respond when confronted with the detailed results of a nine-month legal and forensic investigation conducted by four firms."

Johnny originally sued TMG for fraud, while they hit back with a countersuit in which they insisted his financial situation is his own doing, and the new claims are part of an amended complaint by the company.

-Bang! Showbiz