Johnny Depp has blamed his former business managers for his financial woes saying "If I want to buy 15,000 cotton balls a day, it’s my thing".

It was the latest salvo in a legal battle over the Hollywood star's spending that began in January when he accused his financial advisers of "gross mismanagement" and claimed they owed him $25 million.

Two weeks later The Management Group, which handled Depp's finances from 1999 until early 2016, filed a counter-action in Los Angeles seeking a trial.

They accused the actor of breach of contract and fraud, and claimed he owed them millions of dollars.

Depp was accused by the company of living an "ultra-extravagant lifestyle" and ignoring repeated warnings about his "profligate" spending.

That included that he spent $3 million on a "specially made cannon" from which the ashes of his friend the author Hunter S. Thompson were fired.

In his first public comments on the case Depp said the cost of the cannon had been underestimate and he actually spent $5 million on it.

He told the Wall Street Journal: “Why didn’t they drop me as a client if I was so out of control?

"I’ve worked very, very hard for a lot of years and trusted a lot of people, some who’ve clearly let me down. It’s my money."