Johnny Depp cracked a President Donald Trump assassination joke to a laughing festival crowd in England on Thursday night and received a strong backlash on social media. The question now is, will he apologize or double down? No word yet.
Depp's comments at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset went viral on YouTube with more than 125,700 views. The video shows him introducing his 2004 film "The Libertine" to a crowd of 1,500 at the Cineramageddon drive-in theater, reported The Guardian.
"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 are all a part of it," Depp said, setting up his Trump comments.
"When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?" Depp asked, referencing the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by actor John Wilkes Booth in 1865.
"I want to qualify, I am not an actor. I lie for a living. However, it has been a while and maybe it is time," he continued.
USA Today said Depp's representative had not responded yet to questions about the actor's comments.
Depp's assassination joke comes just eight days after James T. Hodgkinson, of Belleville, Illinois, opened fire with a rifle on a group of Republicans practicing for an annual congressional baseball game, critically injuring House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, said National Public Radio.
Hodgkinson shot four people before U.S. Capitol Police officers, who were part of Scalise's security detail, returned fire and killed him, noted NPR. Scalise's condition was upgraded to fair Wednesday, according to the broadcaster.
In May, comedian Kathy Griffin was showered with criticism for posting a picture of herself holding a mock "decapitated" head of Trump, said USA Today.
While there were no media accounts of Depp responding to the controversy, the actor found plenty of criticism for his words on social media, including fellow actor James Woods.
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