Our fave Pirates of the Caribbean actor, Johnny Depp, has crossed a line by joking about assassinating President Trump.
According to Good Morning America, at the Glastonbury Festival in England on Thursday, Depp asked the crowd, “Can we bring Trump in?” which was met with boos from the audience. “No, no, no. You misunderstand completely. I think he needs help…When was the last time an actor assassinated a president? I want to clarify: I’m not an actor. I lie for a living however it’s been a while. Maybe it’s about time.” Depp was likely referring to John Wilkes Booth, the actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Depp knew this was going to be major news, but he tried to defend his words by framing it all as a joke. “By the way, this is going to be in the press and it’ll be horrible,” he said. “It’s just a question; I’m not insinuating anything.” ABC News reports that the Secret Service is aware of Depp’s comments.
The actor has been a longtime opponent of Trump. In May 2016, he said, “If Donald Trump is elected president of the United States, in a kind of historical way it’s exciting because we will see the actual last president of the United States. It just won’t work after that.” Let’s be clear: It’s one thing to be against a politician, but it’s another to talk about killing him.
Several other celebrities have come under fire for making inappropriate jokes or serious threats against President Trump. Kathy Griffin was fired from CNN after she did a photo shoot with a fake severed head meant to look like Trump. And at the Women’s March in January, Madonna said she “thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House.” Not tasteful, guys.
Whether or not we support Trump and his policies, it’s important to remain peaceful. Even if these celebrities were joking, these are pretty extreme statements.