It was President-versus-Actor at the Glastonbury Festival in England. Everyone’s favorite pirate Johnny Depp didn’t mince his words while talking about the president at the time, Donald J. Trump. In June 2017, the Oscar-nominated actor surprised the audience with an unpleasant remark about Trump. However, he later apologized for his sharp-witted comment.
“Captain Jack Sparrow” never disguises his true feelings, and controversies don’t scare him either. While on stage in front of a sold-out crowd, the Pirates of the Caribbean star made a “bad joke” about Trump. “Can we bring Trump here? I think he needs help,” quipped Depp about the president.
Depp was attending the music fest to introduce his 2004 film The Libertine, reported E! News. The film followed 17th-century poet John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester. The 60-year-old actor received a rockstar welcome at the fest during the event at Cineramageddon – a drive-in cinema on the Somerset site, reported The Guardian. Depp arrived royally in a blue vintage Cadillac, and his loyal fans greeted him with screams and cheers.
He presented his film with director Julian Temple but shifted the topic to discuss United States President. He followed a series of rhetorical questions from a nearly 2000-strong audience. Depp said, “And there are a lot of wonderful dark, dark places he could go,” while the audience cheered on.
That’s not the important part of the story. He admitted finally he is not an actor.
— Pro-American (@dmroth710) June 23, 2017
He continued, “It is just a question—I’m not insinuating anything. By the way, this is going to be in the press. It will be horrible. I like that you’re all part of it.” The Alice in Wonderland actor dropped the bombshell question for which he had to apologize later.
He asked, “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” His question was in reference to the assassination of the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, by renowned stage actor of the time John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. Lincoln was attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.
When the actor received mixed responses to his remark, he reckoned an explanation was needed. He added, “I want to clarify, I am not an actor. I lie for a living. However, it has been a while, and maybe it is time.”
Soon after his statement went viral, the White House released a statement. The official statement read, “President Trump has condemned violence in all forms, and it’s sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead.” It continued, “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,” per The Hollywood Reporter. Trump supporters condemned Depp’s remarks and referred to them as ‘sad.’
Depp publicly apologized for his thoughtless remark, and he told People magazine, “It was in poor taste, did not come out as intended, and was only meant to amuse,” per BBC. According to PEOPLE, he clarified, “I apologize for the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump.”
He concluded, “It did not come out as intended, and I intended no malice. I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone.”
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References:
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40387824
https://people.com/politics/johnny-depp-apologizes-for-comments-about-president-trump/