UCI professor claims Johnny Depp's guards injured her at concert

A UCI Irvine medical school professor and physician is suing Johnny Depp, alleging the actor's bodyguards restrained and injured her during a concert at the Hollywood Palladium.

The assistant professor, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe, alleges that Depp's bodyguards bear-hugged her from behind and restrained her at an Iggy and the Stooges concert Dec. 1before they pried her iPhone from her hands.

The professor said they then handcuffed one of her wrists, dragged her through the Hollywood Palladium and exposed her buttocks to other patrons, according to a copy of the civil complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The woman alleged in her suit that Depp stood by, aware of his bodyguards' actions, but was unwilling to stop them.

The woman, her husband and two friends were celebrating her husband's birthday at the show, according to the civil complaint.

Depp's publicist did not return a call and email seeking comment and a spokesman for Live Nation, which manages the Palladium, said he was unaware of the lawsuit and unable to comment.

The professor, who walks with a cane, alleged in the suit that she bought tickets for the VIP section because the venue allegedly told her special seating was not available for people with disabilities.

Depp's bodyguards prevented the woman from entering the VIP area and later restrained her while taking away her iPhone, the complaint alleges. The bodyguards claimed they were off-duty police and later handcuffed her right wrist, she said in court documents.

The woman says in her filing that she has to wear back and wrist braces, is unable to perform normal tasks or return to work, and that her exi! sting me dical conditions were exacerbated.

The Hollywood Palladium was also named as a defendant.

The professor's attorney, Sepehr Daghighian, declined to elaborate on the suit. "Right now we really don't have anything to say about it," he said.

They are seeking more than $25,000, he wrote in an email.

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Photo: Johnny Depp in 2009. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times