A day after “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor Johnny Depp joked about killing President Donald Trump, the 54-year-old actor said sorry. His apology, however, was not enough for White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway who used a term on Depp that Trump had on fired FBI Director James Comey.
Conway called the actor a “nut job” and insisted it was not a slip of the tongue that occurred.
Jokes like what Depp dropped could trigger lunatics to bring harm to the billionaire, Conway warned, Time reported.
The portrait of an actor as an assassin
The New York Daily News reported Depp made the joke on Thursday at a promotional event at the Glastonbury Festival to introduce “The Libertine,” a movie he made in 2004. He said, “maybe it’s about time” for an actor to kill the president. His reference was actor John Wilkes Booth who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. After he joked, there was a strong reaction from social media sites.
In his apology, Depp acknowledged it was a bad joke about the president done in poor taste.
He explained the joke did not come out as he intended which was with no malice. The actor said it was an attempt to amuse, not to harm anyone.
His joke started with a quip that Trump needs help. Depp then asked when was the last time an actor assassinated a president. The star of “Pirates of the Caribbean" told the audience he is not an actor but instead tells lies for his livelihood.
White House reacts
The White House issued a statement after Depp’s joke became viral that the president has condemned violence in all forms, although some of his political rallies have violent incidents. While the statement expressed sadness that the actor did not follow Trump’s lead in condemning violence, it used the incident to engage in politics.
The statement hoped for other actors to speak out against the type of rhetoric made by Depp as strongly if the joke was made on an elected official from the Democratic Party, Time reported.
Depp is not the first celebrity to joke about killing Trump. In early June, comedian Kathy Griffin posted a photo of herself holding a decapitated and bloodied head of the president. The image became viral and elicited a strong negative reaction from First Lady Melania Trump because her 11-year-old son Barron was traumatized by the image when he saw it on TV.
In January, “Like a Virgin” singer Madonna said at a speech at the Women’s March in Washington she wanted to blow up the White House. She said later the remark should be taken as a metaphor, The New York Daily News reported.