Johnny Depp apologises for Trump assassination joke
Johnny Depp has apologised for making an "assassination" joke about US President Donald Trump, saying he "intended no malice" and "was only trying to amuse".
"I apologise for the bad joke I attempted last night in poor taste about President Trump," the 54-year-old actor said in a statement released to E! News.
"It did not come out as intended, and I intended no malice. I was only trying to amuse, not to harm anyone."
Appearing onstage at the Glastonbury festival in the UK this week, Johnny was originally presenting his film The Libertine to the crowd, but in a video posted to YouTube by NME, he was seen turning the conversation to US politics.
He pointed out that Trump “needs help”, before asking the audience: "When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?"
The joke could be a reference to John Wilkes Booth, the disgruntled actor who killed US President Abraham Lincoln in 1885.
[[img:36102424|caption=The White House also released a statement to CNN: "President Donald] Trump has condemned violence in all forms and it's sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead". Source: Getty|size=O]]
BBC News reportsed that the actor acknowledged that his gag could be taken the wrong way.
"This is going to be in the press and it'll be horrible," the publication quoted him as saying.
"It's just a question, I'm not insinuating anything."
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The White House also released a statement to CNN: "President [Donald] Trump has condemned violence in all forms and it's sad that others like Johnny Depp have not followed his lead.
"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."
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