Eric Trump made headlines on Sunday when he came out in condemnation of Johnny Depp’s recent comments about his father. Depp had joked at the 2017 Glastonbury Music Festival that somebody ought to assassinate president Trump—a remark that has landed Depp in hot water.
Depp has since apologized for his remarks, stating that he had “intended no malice” with his joke about Donald Trump. Yet his apology failed to placate a frustrated Eric Trump who went on to criticize the actor in an interview on “Sunday Morning Futures” with host Maria Bartiromo.
“You see Johnny Depp and what he said, you know, ‘assassinate the president.’ Johnny Depp has his own problems, he has his own problems,” Eric Trump said during the interview. “Why don’t you go back to making movies and doing your own thing?”
Eric’s comments are the latest public denouncement of Depp from a member of the Trump family. Eric’s wife, Lara Trump, likewise berated the actor for his assassination joke, along with Eric’s older brother, Donald Trump Jr.
Lara Trump told Sean Hannity on Friday that she had found Depp’s remarks “sad” and “really disappointing.”
And Donald Trump Jr. had hounded Depp on twitter, publishing posts on the site that were extremely critical of the Pirates of the Caribbean star. One of the tweets by Donald Trump Jr. displayed graphic images of Depp’s ex-wife, Amber Heard, after Depp had allegedly assaulted her. Trump Jr. also tweeted out his hope that Disney would fire Depp, and promoted the #FireDepp hash tag—a movement that has since taken off.
Disney apparently fully supports the assassination of @POTUS
CEO @RobertIger should be ashamed
but he’s not https://t.co/w4hFTlnasS
— PlayTheTrumpCard ?? Trump 2024 (@PlaysTrumpCard) June 25, 2017
The scandal that’s now surrounding Depp bears a number of similarities to that which racked comedian Kathy Griffin back in late May and early June. Both had made offensive jokes about the assassination of the president (Kathy Griffin had released photos of herself holding up the likeness of Trump’s severed head), both had provoked tremendous backlash on social media, and both found themselves within the crosshairs of an angry Trump family.
Indeed, one striking parallel between the Griffin and Depp incidents was Trump Jr.’s tweeting. Not only had Trump Jr. attacked Griffin on twitter through multiple tweets, but he also called on CNN to fire Griffin, as he would later go on to call for Disney’s dismissal of Depp.
Donald Trump Jr. Slams Johnny Depp With Amber Heard Abuse Allegations https://t.co/90hKkhri1v DONT WASTE YOUR BREATH.
— Jacquelyn McCarroll (@Faye602) June 26, 2017
Griffin’s attorney, Lisa Bloom, went on to censure the Trump family for “bullying” her client.
It remains to be seen whether any more members of the Trump family will publicly comment on the Johnny Depp fiasco, or whether Disney will give in to public pressure and sever their ties with Depp. So far, however, the company has given no indication that they’re planning to head in that direction.
[Featured Image by Kathy Willens/AP Images]