White House Condemns Johnny Depp's 'Sad' Assassination Remarks Against President Trump
The White House has officially responded to Johnny Depp‘s remarks against President Donald Trump.
In a statement to ABC News, the White House condemned Depp’s comments made at the Glastonbury Festival in England on Thursday, where — after referencing Trump onstage — he asked, “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” as he seemingly alluded to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination by John Wilkes Booth.
“President Trump has condemned violence in all forms and it’s sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead. I hope that some of Mr. Depp’s colleagues will speak out against this type of rhetoric as strongly as they would if his comments were directed to a Democrat elected official,” the statement read.
Depp was at the festival to introduce a screening of his 2004 film The Libertine when he mentioned the president. “Can you bring Trump here?” Depp asked the audience, who immediately began booing, and then followed up by saying, “No, no, no, you misunderstood completely. I think he needs… help.” He continued, “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” Following cheers and claps, Depp said, “I want to clarify, I’m not an actor. I lie for a living.”
The Secret Service previously confirmed it was aware of Depp’s comments. Threatening the president is a crime under U.S. law. “For security reasons, we cannot discuss specifically nor in general terms the means and methods of how we perform our protective responsibilities,” the Secret Service said in a statement, according to NBC News.
Depp has not shied away from showing his disapproval of Trump. Last year, he portrayed Trump in a satirical biopic for Funny or Die, called Trump “a brat” and predicted he would be “the actual last President of the United States” if elected.
He isn’t the only one coming under fire for comments made against the president. Kathy Griffin was criticized for posing in a graphic photo showing her holding a replica of Trump’s severed head. She was subsequently fired from her New Year’s Eve gig at CNN, and lost endorsement partnerships.
